Stallion's Drive
by alitablake
Summary: Old West Challenge: Kyoko is left with nothing but the family business, which she has to run alone.  With Shotaro's sudden lack of cooperation, she is forced to ask for help from a newly arrived stranger.  AU, OOC.
1. Agreement Broken

**A/N: I do Not own Skip Beat!**

**Welcome to my version of a dime store romance novel Skip Beat Style. LOL This is in response to the Old West Challenge given by WhispersInTheDark on FrankyHouse. I stuck to the rules as closely and literally as I could. No time travel as the characters are not acting or anything like the manga. This is an AU story.  I tried to put character facts into the story but it's not canon at all. **

**So OOC Warning. **

**I was tempted to have the summary say: _Kyoko is in desperate need for a Stallion to save her ranch but instead found a Stud to save her life_. haha. Like I said, cheap romance novel. Please don't take this story too seriously, have fun reading it. I did.  
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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Kyoko stood irritably at the foyer waiting for the one person least deserving of her time. Of course, he didn't think so. That man thought that time moved only for him, and everyone was set to his schedule. Nevermind the fact that he setup this meeting, one she had been screaming and hollering to have for weeks, knowing that he would act this way.

At least it was comfortable, though she would never admit that to anyone. It was massive, the biggest home in the town, belonging to the wealthiest family in town and therefore everything in it was of the best quality. Even the mayor didn't have such finery. She thought she would live here, manage the home and the inn attached to it but no. The heir to such wealth had other plans. None of them involving Kyoko as his wife.

She heard footsteps approaching an hour and... Kyoko looked at her father's old pocket watch... twenty minutes after their agreed upon meeting time. Kyoko gathered up all her courage and stood her ground angrily as she waited for those footsteps to reach her. Shotaro appeared dressed in his riding apparel, dirtied from his expeditions. From his high black riding boots, his cream colored breeches, all the way up to his dark red riding coat, he looked as splendid now as he did when he broke off their engagement. Though, if you asked him, there never was an engagement, merely a misunderstanding between families.

"Kyoko, looking as plain as ever I see. Can you at least attempt to dress up when attending a business meeting?" Shotaro snidely commented examining her best clothing from head to toe. She had on a basic ankle length tweed dark blue skirt with her best lace up boots. A simple black belt clenched her tiny waist with a very pretty white blouse covered with little blue flowers all over it. It was in fashion, with the stiff cuff at the wrists and neck. It even had little ivory buttons going from the breast to the neck. She was very proud of her outfit. Not to mention it was one of the few outfit that her father last bought her before he died.

"Not everyone can dress in those frilly dresses from England, Shotaro," she snapped and then took a step back. Kyoko took a deep breath upset at herself for falling once again into Shotaro's cruel words. "I'm not here to please your eye, not that I ever could. I came here for your stallion, Perses," she told him getting to the point of their belated meeting.

Kyoko was now the only living heir to the Mogami Ranch. There specialty was breeding horses. They supplied horses to people in three towns. There was even a waiting list. This was actually her first year managing the ranch after her father, Hiro Mogami died from pneumonia. The entire town gave her their condolences, but countered their well wishes with not so subtle suggestions of selling the ranch or at least marrying. _A young woman shouldn't be running a ranch alone. You poor dear left alone with no one in the world but those animals. You should find a good strong husband to take over for your father._

Ugh, she's heard it all. Kyoko knew they meant well, but their comments and attempts to "help" her only furthered her determination to succeed in running the ranch alone. Hiro was a great man, raising his daughter alone after her mother died giving birth. He taught her everything there was to breeding and raising good sturdy working horses and even how to shoot a gun. She was exceptional with the horses, only acceptable with a shotgun and a down right amateur with a revolver. Kyoko's spent too much time with the horses to give much practice with her shooting. Not to mention, the horses didn't like the loud noise of a gun.

As for getting married, well, she thought she had that covered with the Fuwa's only son. The two fathers were practically joined at the hip when they were together as drinking buddies and fellow horse enthusiast. They constantly talked about their children getting married and joining the two families until Shotaro voiced his lack of interest in such arrangements. After a semi-public humiliation of him greatly describing all of her less-than-feminine characteristics to another woman, Kyoko washed her hands that had anything to do with the Fuwas except for their horses.

"Oh, is it that time again?" Shotaro dismissed Kyoko's need and started walking away from her, uninterested in his father's arrangement with Hiro's ranch. Kyoko started chasing after him.

"Yes, Shotaro it is. It's June, and I need Perses now, or the season will be over," Kyoko explained for the sixteenth time to this deaf man. She didn't know if her father always had this much trouble, or if it was just Shotaro, but she was getting frustrated. The window of opportunity was closing in fast, and she had to get Perses to her mares soon. The Fuwa family bought her stallion for Shotaro's use. So long as they were willing to lend him out for breeding it would be okay. But with Shotaro's father, Atsushi, out of town, she had to deal with Shotaro for the stallion.

Shotaro lead them into the library where Kyoko was hesitant to go into. Ladies don't normally enter this room. The library was mainly for the males to drink, smoke and socialize while the women had their tea room. She tip toed at the entrance and forced herself though that social boundary determined to get her horse.

"Shotaro, please, it will only be for a week at the most and..." she started to explain, but he stopped her.

"I've been thinking," he interrupted. Kyoko wanted to scream but pressed her lips together in annoyance. "I really don't see the need to continue this agreement between our fathers anymore," he said casually as he poured himself a scotch. "Horses are going to be outdated for transpiration fairly soon with the automobile being marketed at the east coast. Horseback riding and horse drawn carriages are not going to be the desired attraction for the inn but steam powered automobiles and perhaps the new gasoline one." He paused to drink his amber liquid and then sighed in satisfaction. He finally looked at her and in all seriousness said, "I think we should invest in that this year instead. Please understand, Kyoko, that we need to advance with the times. I've convinced my father of this, and he agrees. We will stay with our current count of horses until they have outlived their usefulness, slowly replacing them as we can."

Kyoko was infuriated. She was radiating rage and humming with violent intent. If she had her shotgun, Shotaro's blood would most likely be the new color scheme to this library. To have such a blatant disregard for these beautiful sweet creatures and to simply dismiss her own business and the terms between their fathers was down right criminal.

"You arrogant cur," Kyoko hissed trying to contain the more colorful words she had accidentally learned from her father to herself. "The railroad hasn't even reached here yet and you want to..." she stopped her words short and shook her head. "These horses are my life. I don't care if you want to invest in fancy machines to please all the whores in your life," she bellowed.

"Language, Kyoko, language," Shotaro calmly stated but didn't really care one way or another.

"My father only sold you Perses because your father agreed to allow us use for breeding every year. You can't take back your father's word!" She yelled angrily which made Shotaro angry. No woman can talk back to a man like that, especially not him.

"There is nothing that states such an agreement. Nothing," Shotaro spat. "Father isn't here, your father isn't alive and no contract stating any partnership exists; therefore the selling of your only sire was your mistake and none of my concern." Kyoko was stunned speechless. Her mouth was agape, and she couldn't find a coherent set of words her in outraged brain to voice her thoughts.

"You know the way out," Shotaro stated as he calmly walked around Kyoko towards the front door. Kyoko couldn't move, didn't turn when he moved out of her line of sight and was still fuming over his callous words. This hurt more than when he broke her heart.

"Kyoko," Shotaro stopped at the door and called out. Kyoko turned towards him, glaring at the man who crushed her heart and now wanted to ruin the only thing left in her life.

"If you sold your ranch to me, then I would of course give you **my** stallion," he emphasized the word my making her grind her teeth, "I would even allow you to continue your position as their groom since you are so good with them. You would be working for me though, I'll be sure to provide you with room and board as long as you continue your duties to my satisfaction," he finished and gave her a little smile that grated on her nerves. "What do you say?"

Kyoko smiled sweetly at him which gave him a little surprise. She calmly walked up to him and picked off some invisible lint from his coat. "Shotaro," she said sweetly making him cock an eyebrow questioningly. "Go fuck yourself," she said in a the same sweet sincere way then started walking out.

"Such language, Kyoko, to think that you call yourself a lady," he yelled out after her. "You'll never find a husband with your mannish ways and looks." The door slammed shut as he finished his parting shot and then laughed to himself. He loved seeing her so riled up, like an angry poodle.

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><p><strong>The Challenge:<strong>

The Kyoko and Ren Travel To The Old West Challenge(for lack of a better name)  
><em>Ok, I guess it could be the anybody from Skip Beat travels to the Old West Challenge, but I only like RenKyoko fics. hehe. Sorry_.

The Rules:  
>1) It must take place in the old west (is there an old west in Japan? IDK. Any location, as long as it is Old and West. Just play with it.) and fit the bill of a typical western.<br>2) It must end KyokoXRen, but feel free to throw in whomever you please (The idea of Lory in the Old West intrigues me  
>3) There MUST be a gunfight. Doesn't matter who's in it, but there are ALWAYS gun fights in westerns.<br>4) In character would be nice, but OOC is understandable to a degree. However, basics should be kept. (Any scenes where Ren shoots Sho, perfectly acceptable)


	2. A Stranger Appears

Chapter 2

Kyoko screamed once she was in the middle of the empty street heading back into town. The audacity of that man, treating her, her horses and the honor bound settlement of their fathers like dirt. She must admit that her choice of words was not lady like at all. She would be eating soap for a week had her father heard that word spill from her lips. She would have to ask for forgiveness for such a transgression. She stormed her way down the main street of the town straight into the sheriff's office.

"Miss Kyoko," Deputy Sebastian Devereux greeted Kyoko quietly. He never spoke much, and he never really needed to. He was extremely dark, as if he had been working in the fields all his life, but it was natural. She had no idea where he was from or how he came to be here, but knew that he was from a very far away land and was a dear friend to Sheriff Lory Takarada.

"I need to report a criminal offense committed by one Shotaro Fuwa. He is holding one of my horses hostage!" Kyoko cried alerting the entire station of her presence. A crick in the floor boards behind her called her attention to the town's telegrapher.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kyoko. How are you today?" Yukihito Yashiro asked with a kind smile. Kyoko always liked him, a sweet and intelligent man with a wife and two kids. She gave him a weak smile, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"It's June, and Shotaro refuses use of my stallion," she explained and turned back to Deputy Sebastian. "He told me he was never going to give me my sire for my mares. I need that horse to continue my business. We have an agreement!" Her yelling finally brought out the man that was like her second father.

"From what I remember, he bought that horse a few years back," Sheriff Lory stated as he entered the open office. "He has the right to do what he pleases with his horse."

Kyoko looked up at Lory with tears in her eyes. "The only reason Daddy sold him the horse was as a favor to his father. Atsushi agreed to give him back during the mating season. It's June! I've been trying to get the horse for weeks now and nothing. Make Shotaro honor the agreement!"

Lory sighed and stepped away from his door. "Come inside, Kyoko. Let's talk about it in here." He gestured into this office, and Kyoko accepted, quickly stepping inside the office. Lory closed the door behind her and calmly walked over to the seat next to her instead of the one behind his desk.

"Lory, please. I need that horse, or I'll have nothing for to show for next year," Kyoko pleaded making Lory's heart weep.

"Kyoko, I can't do anything. Hiro and Atsushi never made a contract with those details. It was a verbal understanding made between friends over a drink. There is nothing the law can do for you if Shotaro doesn't want to give you his horse," Lory pointed out the faults of her argument. Kyoko looked down sadly at her hands, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. Kyoko never cried. The last time he saw her cry was after her father's funeral. She was so strong during it, not shedding a tear until every soul was gone from her home, all except him. She had no one after that, but he made sure that she was taken care of when he could, often using Maria as an excuse to check up on her.

After a few moments of silence, Lory thought of something. "Don't you have a young colt in your stables? How old is he? Is he suitable?"

Kyoko shook her head. "Too young, and he's a little rebellious. I was fixing to break him next year or get one of the Ishibashi brothers to help if needed. If Apollo continues to be so wild, I can't use him as a sire. No one would by my horses if they all turned out like that."

"Well, if he calms down then you'll be able to use him next year. Why don't we just forget this year and see if Apollo will settle down and use him as your next stallion. Your father has had years with no pregnancies. You can handle it too," he said encouragingly. Kyoko frowned. Those years were very scary to her and her father, though he always tried to keep it under wraps. It was always a question of, well, what about next year? Or what if it happens again the next. To at least try and find that none of the mares got pregnant was understandable but to simply not try was inconceivable. She excused herself from it last year because of her father's death and now having to forgo it again this year was terrifying, but...

"What choice do I have," she whispered defeated by the circumstances. Lory gave her a sad little smile and took her hand in his for comfort.

"It will be alright," he said softly. "You know my son, Kouki, needs a..."

"Please stop," Kyoko said tiredly. She looked up at Lory with a pleading look. "He is a wonderful man and handsome just like you, but you know he is still mourning his wife. Plus Maria would never accept me as her mother."

"There you are wrong," Lory quickly countered. "You are the only woman that Maria likes. She would love to have you as her mother."

"Hmm, that doesn't dismiss the other fact. Let Kouki find his own wife, like Rina," Kyoko said and then quietly whispered, "I could never replace a beautiful woman like Rina."

Lory scoffed, "My darling girl, when will you stop the self pity that man has inflicted upon you. You are utterly enchanting, cease these horrible comments." Lory stood up pulling Kyoko with him. "Now, how about tonight Maria and I have a little visit? She hasn't seen you in a while and has been asking about you for days," Lory said as he escorted her out of the station. "Then perhaps I could even convince you to let her stay for a day or two while I take care of some business the next town over?" He asked with a slightly pleading voice. Kyoko laughed, knowing that was his motive the whole time.

"Of course, I would love to take care of Maria, but..." she looked down sadly and asked softly, "When is Kouki coming back from that banking trip? A girl needs her father."

"Just as much as she needs a mother," Lory stated with a knowing tone. Kyoko rolled her eyes and dropped her question. "I'll be expecting the both of you at six sharp. I'll have dinner, and if you like an extra bed for you as well?"

"Thank you, Kyoko, but no need. We'll be there promptly at 6, and I'll have to leave after dinner. I can't thank you enough for always being there for Maria and me," he said sincerely at the front door to the station.

Kyoko shook her head. "You do so much for me, there is no need for any thanks. I'll see you tonight," she said and turned towards Sebastian, "Goodbye Deputy." He gave her a small smile and nodded once and then Kyoko yelled out, "Goodbye Yukihito!" Yukihito popped his hand out and waved before retreating back into his room.

Kyoko walked back home, picking up a few supplies for dinner and eyeballed the little clothing store where all those frilly dresses from Europe were being displayed at the window. She ran a hand down her simple outfit and sighed looking up at the colorful lace and ribbons that decorated the mannequins. Two women exited the store in front of her giggling and chattering about something they just bought. Kyoko recognized them as Mimori Nanokura and Erika Koenji. The moment they came into view, Kyoko quickly started to walk away trying not to draw their attentions.

"Why hello Miss Kyoko," Mimori called out to her as soon as Kyoko turned tail to run. "Aren't the new summer dresses a sight to behold," Mimori continued as Kyoko was forced to interact with the two girls. She looked up at the dresses mentioned adorned in all of the latest accessories that Kyoko dreamed of owning.

"Yes, they are quite fetching," she admitted trying to hide the lust for such garments and the distaste she had for talking to these women.

"Indeed, though not really suited for your lifestyle," Mimori said with hint of malice humor. Kyoko gave her a fake smile hiding her true desires to smear some dirt on her pretty clothes.

"That's true," Kyoko agreed, puzzling the two girls with her agreeance. "Trying to do a honest day's work in such silly clothing is unreasonable. Those are better suited for ladies with a lack of profitable skills to try and obtain a wealthy spouse in which they can continue their distasteful criticism of their fellow townsfolk. Now if you will excuse me ladies, I need to return home." Kyoko finished, her spirit brightened by the looks of horror on the two girl's faces.

"Yes, return to your empty loveless home, where I'm sure the only living creature willing to share your life and bed are of those on four legs," Mimori jeered making Erika laugh.

"You're very funny, Mimori. It's true. I can't imagine what she was thinking that Shotaro would ever marry someone as brutish as her," Erika chimed in making Kyoko sped up her walk away from those vile women.

"That coming from the two most clandestine loose women in town," a strong voice came piping in from across the street, causing all three women to look at her. "Which poses an explanation as to why the both of you are still unmarried at such a late age," Kanae sashayed over to the three of them making the two stiffen up in distain.

"How dare you!" Erika exclaimed, "We are ladies of good stature and wealth, to associate us with a harlot like yourself. I am appalled. Let's take our leave before we are further tainted by this scarlet and her uncouth friend." Both women turned their skirts and walked off arrogantly.

Kyoko smiled at her best friend and skipped over to her as Kanae watched them walk away with scorn. "Kanae! Aren't you working right now?" Kyoko asked happily. Kanae was dressed up for work in a hot pink dress that hugged every curve she had. The bodice lifted her amble chest while her ruffled skirt revealed her shapely legs. There was so much lace and sequins decorating her outfit that Kyoko had trouble taking it all in. She was so dazzling, and Kyoko admired her.

Kanae once told her she could join, but Kyoko quickly declined. Kanae had the looks and the talent to be a dancehall girl but not her. Kyoko wasn't afraid of ruining her reputation. While the "respectable women" saw Kanae and the other dances as a disgrace and whores, Kyoko knew better. Kanae was still very much a virgin as were many of the others. They enjoyed dancing and singing, not to mention the money they earned was more than a lot of the men in the town. That was Kanae's sole purpose for taking this job, the money, though Kyoko suspected that she enjoyed the attention and gifts her male suitors gave her. So long as they didn't breath or think of the word marriage around her.

No, the reason Kyoko didn't join her on the stage was because her shapeless body would look horrible in those dresses. She had no breast to perk up, no hips to lure the men in and was simply too plain. She could dance, and she sang better than most of those girls but no. Plus Kyoko couldn't imagine wearing such revealing clothing so comfortably in public.

"Not yet. I came in early to get a bite to eat and saw you getting cornered by the two wretches," Kanae replied. Kyoko was so happy that Kanae went out of her way just because she thought she needed saving. When Kanae turned to her only friend finding her with big gold puppy dog eyes, she thought Kyoko was begging for attention. Kanae sighed. "Would you like to join me?" She asked without much enthusiasm.

"Yes, but I can't," Kyoko confessed sadly. "Sheriff Lory and Maria are coming over tonight, and I need to start making dinner. Maybe we have lunch together tomorrow?" She asked eagerly. If she had a tail, it would be wagging.

Kanae wanted to smile. This girl with her silly ways and happy go lucky attitude even with all of her hardships made Kanae love her more everyday. She remembered those days when that good-for-nothing Shotaro broke her heart. Kanae wanted to break his legs, and then there was her father. Kanae loved that man almost as much as she loved Kyoko. The Mogami Ranch was an escape from the hassles of her overwhelming family even if Kyoko was just as animated as her siblings. At least Kyoko never asked for anything. Instead, she always gave too much, and Kanae often fought to spoil her a little.

"Yeah, come by tomorrow at 1, and we'll eat at my place," Kanae offered and braced herself for impact.

"Really!" Kyoko screeched and then as expected hugged Kanae exuberantly. "It's a date. I'll be sure to bring your favorite pie, too." Kyoko pulled away and laughed at the mixed emotions on Kanae's face. Kanae loved anything sweet but hated what it did to her body, though if Kyoko made her a mix berry pie, Kanae was doomed. They said their goodbyes, and Kyoko made her way back home before it was too late.

She set to work as soon as she checked on the horses. She had done all the required duties before her meeting with Shotaro, and just wanted to make sure no one needed attention. She had everything for a basic chili and set that to cook in her cast-iron pot while she prepared the dough for the pies. Kyoko planned to make two: the mix berry for Kanae and an apple for Maria. She had the fruit jarred and ready to go. She would have to replenish her supply for the winter months soon. It wasn't long before both pies were in her oven, and she set off to make the cornbread for the meal.

She stepped outside to her storage shed to fetch her milled corn when the sun blinded her for a moment. It was getting late; the sun was already starting to set. As she walked over with her keys in hand, she saw a horse with a figure standing next to a watering troff. She smiled thinking it was Lory coming in early but then frowned when she didn't see Maria, nor did her guest even attempt to move towards her. As luck would have it, the sun prevented her from seeing nothing but a tall man with a horse drinking water. Panic surged through her at the sight of this stranger.

Kyoko turned on her heel and ran for her shotgun. There were far too many unknowns for a single woman to approach a stranger found on her land. Was he thief? A criminal?. Why was he on her land in the first place? To try and buy it or steal a horse from her? She saw that the horse was already saddled, and her herd were trained to accept their new owners. Could he have really saddled one of her horses in the time she was in the house cooking. Kyoko's concern was more towards her horses than herself. Not once did she think that he would have any ill intentions to a woman like her.

She grabbed her Winchester lever action shotgun and fed it five rounds. She walked out there, squinting at the sun and trying to find the man in question. He moved, away from the horse and was looking out towards the town. She took a glance at the horse as she moved in closer and found it wasn't one of hers. This one was brown and had markings different from her own, though she couldn't see much with the sun in her eyes. She found the man silhouette and headed for it.

She was about 15 feet away when she spoke, "I'll have you know that you are trespassing on private property, Stranger." He was tall, extremely tall, making Kyoko take a step back as he turned around. He was wearing a dusty leather trench coat along with a dusty old cowboy hat. He had long hair that blew in the wind and that was all she could make out. His face and body fell into shadows the moment he faced her as well as any chance of her making out any type of weapons he may have on his person.

The man turned towards her surprised to see a tiny petite woman aiming a very dangerous shotgun straight at him. He very slowly raised his arms up in the air and smiled at her, though she showed no reaction to his smile.

"I meant no harm, Miss," he said carefully. "I came from the neighboring city, and my horse practically pulled me over to your watering troff." He didn't dare take a step but examined the girl as she muddled over his words. She was pretty minus the gun and the frown on her face. Dark black hair was pinned behind her head and plain worked in clothes covered her body from chin to toe. A simple brown blouse along with a dark red skirt was covered in what looked like flour from the dusting of white on her clothes, and he could make out the tattered edges and thinned areas in the fabric due to hard work. She was a simple rancher's daughter just protecting her land. He had nothing to fear from her. Though a thought of where her father or husband was came to mind.

Kyoko tightened her grip on the gun and licked her lips. She knew quite a few people from the next town over. They often sold their horses to those town folk as well, though this man, with his voice and size, she didn't recognize. She didn't dare assume she knew everyone, but something in this man told her to be cautious.

"What's your name?" She asked. Perhaps if she recognized his last name, she would feel at ease. The name noticeably hesitated, making Kyoko extremely suspicious.

"Ren Tsuruga," he finally answered, the name drawing a blank in Kyoko's mind. What he said was a lie, everything in her told her that, and she wanted this man gone.

"Well, Mr. Tsuruga. I really don't like you sneaking up here when there is a perfectly good town just down the street. There is a stable in town that will care for your horse and an inn to care for you if needed. I request that you be on your way and off my land," Kyoko finished blinking away the bright light, hoping this man wouldn't notice her handicapped vision.

"Yes, Miss. You have my sincerest apologies for my unwelcome visit. I never meant any harm," Ren stated again, and she felt horrible. He was being kind and in all honesty didn't threaten her in any way. His horse was thirsty, and she could understand that. She lowered the gun slightly still wary of him and took another step back. Kyoko watched him retreat back to his horse, mount up and jogged away. She let out a heavy sigh as soon as he was gone the adrenaline in her system leaving her worn out.


	3. Excitment

Chapter 3

Ren rode into town, slowing down to a slow walk as he approached still smiling over the girl that snuck up on him. She was so light footed even on the dirt and gravel, he didn't know she was there until she spoke. Then to find such a simple girl looking at him so seriously was intriguing. He didn't even get her name. Due to that event bringing a genuine smile on his lips, everyone who encountered him greeted him warmly. The stable the girl mentioned was easy to find as was not one but two inns.

This town was much larger than the last and looked to be well maintained. The area was green with a lot of trees. The townsfolk had a lot of the area cleared up for lumber and such and the immediate area was dirt due to traffic, but overall the land around it was beautiful. This was the first town in a while that was worthy of further investigation. Ren looked at the two inns available. Both had vacancies but one fit his requirements more than the other. He walked past the Fuwa Inn not wanting to draw more attention to himself at the ritzier inn and into Daruma-ya's Bed and Breakfast. He was greeted by an older woman, smiling sweetly up at him.

"Good Evening, sir," she greeted him kindly. "How may I help you tonight?"

Ren took off his hat and ran a hand through his shaggy dark blond hair. He smiled at the woman and replied, "I'd like a room for the night please." With him not knowing if his findings tomorrow would prove fruitful, he only promised one night at the inn.

"Of course, right this way," the madam of the inn escorted him to a small but comfortable room. It had a single bed and a wash stand with a pitcher for water and a bowl shaped basin. "Will this do?" the woman asked.

"Yes, thank you," he nodded and gave her payment for the room. The woman left and Ren was tempted to clean up a little. It had been awhile, and the unchartered land was not especially kind; however, the urge to sleep was stronger. He stripped off his outerwear and allowed sleep to take over.

Ren awoke bright and early the next day. This time he did fetch water and cleaned up a little with a small cloth. He would have to look into an actual bath sometime. He went downstairs and sat down at their little restaurant. There were only two other people in the little sitting area, and he saw a family leaving as he entered the room. So the town had business enough for this inn to survive along side the Fuwa Inn.

The older woman from last night came by quickly with a kettle of coffee in her hand. "What can I interest you for breakfast? You'll find no better food than my husbands in this town," she said with confidence. Ren gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'm afraid I'm not very hungry; however, I would love some of that coffee and a newspaper perhaps?" The madam frowned curiously at the man. Most of her visitors were always ravenous, so his statement caused her to pause but not for long. She nodded, poured him a steaming cup of black coffee for him and left, returning shortly with their local newspaper.

Wedding announcements, obituaries of natural causes, as well as sales and advertisements of an up and coming fair were the only things happening in this town. There was mention of a disruption in the neighboring town, the one he just left, that a Deputy Matsushima took care of rather quickly. It seemed that this town was the main focus of two smaller towns in the area. The other town was half a day's trip north of here.

As Ren read the paper, several people came in and out of the B&B. It seems that they also serve the local people as a normal restaurant, helping increase their income. The thing that made him the most curious is that a lot of them didn't eat. They came in spoke to someone and glanced at his direction, hinting that perhaps they don't have as many visitors as he first thought.

The madam came and refilled his coffee when he posed a question, "Am I disrupting business for you, Madam?"

She glanced at him and then at the window where a few younger female faces turned away in a flutter. She laughed softly, "Quite the contrary. Everyone is simply curious about you. Are they bothering you?" She asked with concern. "I will send them off if they make you uncomfortable."

"Not at all," he admitted. Ren was used to being the center of attention actually. "I gather you don't get many visitors then?"

"Hmm, most of our cliental are from our sister towns, so everyone knows everyone. We get a few business men and travelers here and there but none that held your charm," she admitted shyly making him smile. "May I ask the reason for your visit?"

"Business," Ren simply stated, not wanting to divulge more should he decided against using this town as a base. Ren came scouting for a town that would eventually become a rail road hub, one that would also become his main post in his father's company. He tried looking in various areas as Kuon Hizuri only to come out with empty promises and hundreds of invitations to functions and luncheons for marriage proposals. The moment he introduced himself as a Hizuri his questions about the town flew out the window and in came the waves of single women and opportunistic business men came flooding to make in good with the Hizuri name.

Enter Ren Tsuruga, a person who was greeted with respect as a businessman and left alone in a relative peace minus a few aggressive women. Two of which just entered the building.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Sasaki. How is everything going this fine day?" Mimori spoke out loudly and glanced over at Ren hoping to get his attentions. Ren could spot a carnivore a mile a way and to have them roam in packs was the worse.

"Everything is just fine, Miss Mimori, Miss Erika. Are you coming in to eat this morning?" Ai Sasaki asked, her polite tone of voice not as friendly as before.

"We have," Erika spoke up this time, and the two girls sat down two tables away from Ren. "We would so love some scones with butter and jam along with some milk tea," she ordered, and Ai left to get their meal. She came back quickly, serving them their tea and then bringing a small plate of two scones with three kinds of jams.

_The town seems to be extremely well off. Was there a trade route through here? _Ren thought noticing the jams. For a town to have a variance of fruit at their disposal was a bonus.

"I do love your new bonnet, Erika. It matches so well with your eyes," Mimori cooed to her friend loudly.

"You're too kind, Mimori. Say are you free this afternoon, my mother is meeting with the mayor's wife today for tea. You must come," Erika pleaded. Out of the corner of Ren's eye, he could see them constantly looking for a reaction from him. He wanted to sigh. They continued their frivolous talk about how well connected they were and how beautiful they were in their English finery. Ren was starting to get sick and left as politely as he could.

What about him drew these women's attention to him? He was dressed in the same clothes he was wearing last night. He hasn't cut his hair in months and from the grit he felt all over his body, bathed in a least three weeks. They couldn't have known him to be a business man, not so soon. Right?

Apparently the entire town knew of him, though how word spread was beyond comprehension. He drew everyone's eye and found the two women at the B&B following him, speaking in hushed tones. He rolled his eyes and sot out sanctuary in the nearest saloon. A breath of relieve left him as soon as he saw them walking away pouting.

"You look like you need a drink," a middle aged man said behind the bar with a knowing smile.

"Absolutely," Ren replied taking out his flask. "Could you fill that up too?" He handed the empty flask to him and the barkeep nodded. He smelled the flask and recognized the smell. He took out a glass bottle of brandy, filled a glass up and placed it in front of Ren, then proceeded to fill up his flask. Ren looked at him unbelievably and took a sip astonished.

"You even have the brand right. Amazing," Ren said surprised making the bartender laugh. "Family owned business, been dealing with liquor all my life. The name is Ryutaro Uesugi, owner and operator," Ryutaro introduced himself as he handed Ren back his flask.

"Ren Tsuruga, traveling businessman," Ren replied, taking back his flask and stashing it. "You have a very nice place, matches the town, but does the town match the look?" He asked cryptically as he took another swig of his drink.

Ryutaro laughed and shrugged. "We're the same as any other town. Same problems and same perks. I think we are on the up and up thanks to Sheriff Takarada never mind Mayor Akatoki. They are always butting heads, but together I think they balance each other out."

"Hmm," Ren replied. Before he could continue his conversation, a door from upstairs loudly burst open to be followed by the sounds of a couple laughing boisterously. Ren watched as a dark haired handsome boy came down with an arms around a painted woman. She was attractive, with reddish brown hair, but also screamed dirty with the way she clung to the obviously rich boy.

"Damn it, Shotaro," Ryutaro shouted angrily, "I told you that we are not that kind of establishment. I run a clean business, not a brothel. Ruriko, what in the world were you thinking?" The two lovers reached the bottom of the steps as soon as he finished.

"Aww, Ryu Honey, I was just having a little fun," the dancer named Ruriko said and then gave a little smile to Shotaro, "Ain't that right, Sho baby?"

The boy named Shotaro grinned lecherously at her and grabbed her behind roughly making her squeal and laugh. He whispered something in her ear, again making her giggle and started to leave. Ren watched him and made eye contact briefly as he walked past.

"I better not see you up there again, Shotaro, or my gun will be the only hole you'll be messing with," Ryutaro threatened though the boy didn't seem to take him seriously and was gone a moment later. The barkeep turned to the girl who was now eye balling Ren.

"Ruriko, you came here looking for honest work. I will not have you sullying my saloon and the other girls with your ways. If you do this again, I will kick you out, do you hear me," Ryutaro stated making the girl pout.

"I'm sorry, Ryu. That was personal, not business. I got nothing out of it but a fun night. I promise," she stated in a fake sincere voice and then turned a sinful smile over to Ren. "A very fun night. I do enjoy having all sorts of fun, don't you, Mister?" She asked Ren, who was well aware of the offer she gave him. Instead of answering her, Ren stood up and dropped a few coins for the drinks.

"I best be on my way," Ren stated as he stood up, "Thank you Ryutaro, Ma'am." Ryutaro gathered up his coin as Ren left. Ruriko sneered after him.

"Ma'am? Do I look like a damn Ma'am. He's probably older than me," she said sourly causing Ryutaro to snort.

"Go get some sleep, Ruriko and bathe. You're working tonight, and I don't want you smelling like that idiot."

Ren stepped out into the brightening day and set off to work. He walked the streets, spoke to a few non-threatening locals about the town and headed off to their library to look through their census and past newspapers.


	4. The Agreement

Chapter 4

Kyoko spent the first part of her morning tending the horses until Maria reminded her that she had school today.

"What? What time? Where?" Kyoko panicked as she looked at her pocket watch. "Oh Maria, you're going to be late. Hurry, get dressed, you can't go like that. Where is your uniform?" Maria laughed as she got carried way by Kyoko, rushing to the house with straws of hay clinging onto her skirt. As Maria got dressed, Kyoko started saddling up her mare, Windy, to ride into town. Getting dressed was not a slow task, yet when Maria came out clean and ready to go, Kyoko already had Windy saddled and waiting for her to finish up.

"Come on, young lady. Up you go," Kyoko lifted Maria into the saddle and then promptly followed up behind her. It always amazed Maria how very strong Kyoko was, sometimes wondered if she was stronger than a man.

"Hold on tight, Maria. I'm going to get you there in time," Kyoko told her and then kicked off, urging Windy to start moving and then flowing into a full blown gallop into town. There was a reason that her mare's name was Windy. With such light riders, she flew like the wind into the town and to the small school.

"Aww, can we do another lap before I go?" Maria asked adorably with her hair blown everywhere. Maria LOVED riding with Kyoko, it was the most fun in the whole town.

Kyoko laughed and shook her head. "No, you have to go to your lessons. If you are good, perhaps we can go out later tonight, okay?" Maria quickly nodded as Kyoko pulled her off the saddle.

"Miss Mogami, haven't I told you that it is too dangerous to ride in like that with a child in tow. You must be more careful, keeping the safety of the child in mind. What if she fell at those speeds? You could have killed her." Haruki Asami was the school teacher for the town. She was widowed recently, her husband dying several years back to a lumbering accident, though as been seen romantically with a certain veterinarian, Hiroaki Ogata.

Kyoko smiled at the woman looking Maria over. "I'm sorry, but Windy would never let anything happen to Maria, nor would I," Kyoko tried to reason with the beautiful woman. Kyoko couldn't help but wonder how some women with the exact same diet and environment, grew up with a voluptuous figure while Kyoko was left looking like skin and bones.

"I'm fine, Ms. Asami. Please don't be mad at Kyoko," Maria pouted trying to defend her.

"It's Miss Kyoko at least, Miss Maria, and I'm not mad," she said standing up. "I'm just concerned. Come on, let's go inside and start lessons," Haruki offered her hand to Maria to escort her in. Kyoko waved goodbye as Maria walked into the building and then looked up at Windy.

"We would never let anything bad happen to her, huh, Windy," she asked her mare and started scratching her neck. Windy leaned her head closer to Kyoko wanting more of her attentions making Kyoko smile. She rode back in a gentle walk. She had a few hours before she had to meet Kanae for lunch. That would allow her to get her daily duties done. Normally, around this time of the year, she would be preparing for dealing with a pregnant horse or two, but with the refusal of Shotaro, it gave her more free time to address other needs.

Speaking of needs, Kyoko needed to try and tame Apollo, her youngest colt. If she didn't, Apollo would have to be gelded, and she would need to search out of town for a new stallion. Her heart felt heavy at the thought of that. Sorrow and disappointment filled her as she led Windy to the front of the stables. She took her time removing the saddle from Windy, then promptly gave her an apple as a treat for riding so fast.

The herd was out loose, running around the land and nibbling whatever was out there to eat, while Kyoko cleaned up the stalls and refilled their food and water troffs. She oiled her saddle and then her fathers, wishing that he was still here to use it. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she gently caressed the worn leather. She took a shaky breath and tried to steel herself. Time slipped by quickly, and she wanted to walk to town.

Kanae didn't eat a thing for breakfast, not because she wasn't hungry but because she knew what was coming this afternoon. Though as time crept closer, everything around her looked and even smelled like food. Her small table looked like a slab of dried beef, her light brown couch looked like fresh baked bread, even her jewelry looked like a basket of sweet ripe berries. She took a deep breath and inhaled, like berry pie... There was a knock on the door, and Kanae almost ran to it.

"Good afternoon, Kanae. How are you?" Kyoko asked cheerily as Kanae carefully took the delicious smelling pie from her hands.

"I'm starving. Let's eat," Kanae announced as she pulled out a knife from a drawer and plunged it into the pie.

"I thought we were going to eat lunch?" Kyoko asked confused.

"Yes, we are. Have a seat, and I'll serve you a piece in just a moment," Kanae replied only having eyes for the dark sweet in front of her.

Kyoko laughed. "That's not lunch, Kanae. That's for after lunch," Kyoko said with a silly smile.

Kanae had a bit half way to her mouth and froze. "You expect me to eat this and a full meal? You're joking right?" Once finished, she finished her previous action, groaning in pleasure at the first taste.

A rush of happiness filled Kyoko at the sight of it, but she had to stay strong and get Kanae to eat healthily. "Kanae, eating a pie for lunch is not healthy," she stated and marched over to take the pie from Kanae's hands.

Kanae growled as she forked another bite into her mouth. Kyoko snorted but then quickly replaced her smile with a frown. "You can eat it later, lets go get a real meal."

"No," Kanae snapped and ate another bite. The slice was almost gone.

"Fine," Kyoko huffed. "Finish that and lets go get something at Daruma-yas." The mention of going there to eat convinced her friend to accept the deal. They escaped the siren's call of Kyoko's pie and headed towards their favorite spot in the town. The moment they entered, the madam of the B&B greeted them with a large warm smile.

"Miss Kyoko, Miss Kanae, it is so very good to see you both. Have you come to eat today?" Ai said eagerly. She loved these two girls so very much, having more on their mind than fashion and men. They were so kind and hardworking, both her husband and herself dote on them when they can.

"Yes, how is Mr. Sasaki doing?" Kyoko asked. The master and chef of the Bed and Breakfast was a very stoic man, usually keeping to himself behind the scenes while his wife greeted the customers. Kyoko often worked for them when her father was alive, earning a few extra coins cleaning up the rooms upstairs or helping Eiji Sasaki cook for the guest.

"He is fine. You should go say hi, he would love it if you would," Ai said and ushered them to the back. There the apathetic man worked cutting up meat for his customers.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Sasaki," both girls said at the same time making him look up. He didn't smile or say a word back to them, simply nodded once and returned to his task. Kyoko smiled brightly while Kanae shook her head.

"Have a seat, and we'll get you today's special," Ai said and left without a word from the two girls. They had been there so often that they ate whatever was served, everything was good. Today's special was a pot pie, filled with carrots, peas, potatoes and chicken all within a delicious flaky crust. Kanae ate the whole thing and some bread even with the serving of pie before hand. Kyoko filled the conversation with her troubles with Shotaro and the stallion earning a few choice words from her best friend.

"That miscreant. He knew what he was doing the moment he begged his father to buy that horse," Kanae said venomously. "The only reason he wanted that horse was to show off. A stallion riding a stallion, " Kanae said mockingly. "We should go over and cut his manhood off, then it will be a gelding riding a stallion." Kyoko blushed at Kanae's words but couldn't help and laugh at the notion of it. The front door swung open to reveal one of the saloon's newest dancers, Chiori Amamiya. She hesitated at the door looking at something outside in disgust and clicked her tongue disapprovingly before heading their way.

"Can you believe the ruckus one man is making in this town?" She stated as she joined them at the table. She arrived only a year ago and instantly turned to them for friendship. Kyoko was beyond ecstatic with a new friend at her side while Kanae slowly started to accept the girl after getting to know her.

"What man?" Kyoko asked ignorant of the happenings in town. Kanae snorted, knowing all about the newcomer investigating the town.

"This man comes into town this morning telling everyone he is traveling for business," Chiori explained, "Who cares, right? Lots of people come in for business. He starts asking questions about the town and then looks up our history and business connections to our sister cities. People are starting to suspect that he isn't what he says, that perhaps he works for the government or maybe investigating our trade so he can swindle it away."

"Now see here, Miss Chiori," Ai came to pour some tea to their newest arrival. "I will not have you spreading rumors on a kind gentleman like Mr. Tsuruga."

_Tsuruga? Why does that name sound familiar? _Kyoko frowned thinking to herself. Chiori interrupted her train of thought after she apologized and asked, "You've met him, Mrs. Sasaki?"

"Yes, he roomed here last night. I gather if he wants to stay a few more days that he will continue to bunk here; however, that is his choice. He only mentioned staying the one night, but he was kind and very well mannered. Don't be judging someone on account of rumors, ladies," she reprimanded them making them all apologize.

"I wonder why he is here," Chiori asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

"Why does it matter? He is of no concern of ours," Kanae stood up announcing her desire to leave. Kyoko stood up as well, while Chiori quickly drank the tea she was served. They dropped a few coins, and Kanae led the way to leave while speaking, "If he truly is a simple businessman, he will conduct his business, and we will never see him again. Let the half-witted women of this town chase after him like beasts in heat. We will stand out of their way."

Kyoko blinked at Kanae's words, stunned by their abruptness. "They are doing what?" She asked to clarify that last statement.

"Oh, didn't you know. He's extremely handsome," Chiori explained, "Tall, with dark gold hair and green eyes. That's why everyone in town is in a dither. The few time's I've saw him, he had at least three pairs of eyes on him, each pinning for his hand in marriage."

Kanae laughed. "The poor fool is engaged to every unwed female in this town, and he doesn't even know it."

"Except for us," Chiori clarified, and Kanae nodded. Kyoko was following the conversation until her eyes caught on a magnificent sight. She heard a few words like, pinning, marriage and fool. Even with those she agreed with whatever they were saying, but she was gone the moment she saw him. Kanae and Chiori looked to see what had grabbed their friend's attention and sighed.

"Would you like a piece of pie, Chiori? I've got some in my room," Kanae offered which Chiori happily accepted.

"We'll talk to you later, Kyoko," Chiori called out to her, and Kyoko quickly turned to them.

"Yes, lunch was wonderful. I'll see both of you soon," she replied back as they walked away. _I hope they aren't mad at me, _she thought to herself. She debated going with them and apologizing, but then turned back to the object of her affections.

He was gorgeous, standing at about 15... no 16 hands tall with a beautiful shinny sorrel chestnut coat. She carefully approached the horse from the left side, keeping herself in constant view, with her hands out in front of her.

"Hello, handsome," she cooed as she came within touching distance. She very slowly reached out and touched his neck, and the horse made no move to signal his disapproval. Kyoko smiled and then reached her other hand to stroke down his muzzle. The horse signaled his pleasure when Kyoko lifted her hand up to stroke down again.

"You're so friendly, such a sweet charming... stallion?" she questioned the horse as if it could answer. She looked around the area and quietly moved towards the back of the horse. She kept her hand on his body, gently petting him to let him know she wasn't going to do anything bad. She squatted down and looked at his sex and then just about jumped for joy finding that it wasn't gelded.

"Oh yes, yes," she stood up slowly as to not spook the horse. "You are positively perfect, my handsome friend, beautiful shinny coat," she ran her hand down the horse's back, "silky well kept hair," she ran her hand down the length of his back, up his rear thigh and then gently touched his tail. "You've been groomed recently, haven't you, big fella."

She slid her hand down his leg. "Strong muscle tone, straight, unblemished legs." She lifted his foot gently once she reached his ankle.

"Looks like you need new shoes, maybe your owner is going to get you some today," Kyoko rounded up front and looked into the horses eyes. "That would be nice, right?" She asked him, and he flicked his ear. She smiled at his perked up ears. "You're alert, such a good boy. Nothing is going to get by you."

At this time, Ren came out of the local grocery store trying to escape the three older woman trying to push their daughters onto him.

"Ladies please. I thank you for your kind gestures, but I'm only here on business, which I am in need of continuing. I do hope you have a wonderful day," he bowed to them trying to slip away and was happy to see them leave even if a little bit disappointed. He let out a sigh of relief when no one approached him immediately. _Perhaps a ride around the outskirts of town is in order. No doubt Rusty's itching for a good run by now, _Ren thought to himself. He walked over to where his horse was standing when he saw something moving around him.

Kyoko continued to talk to the stallion, cooing and examining him for breeding. "Bright dark brown eyes, you are an intelligent one, aren't you. Now how old are you sweetie?" she asked and started to open his mouth. She was surprised to find him amenable when she did this. To have strange people in your mouth was no doubt an uncomfortable feeling but this horse didn't seem to care. He was young around seven or so years, and his incisors were perfectly together. "Are you a gift from God?" she asked releasing his mouth looking him over again.

"I would love to see you ride," she said to him with a wistful sigh.

"Perhaps that can be arranged."

Kyoko jumped up in shock and let out a surprised yelp at the deep voice behind her. The horse snorted it's irritation to such actions and took a step back. Kyoko wanted to ease the horse but turned around to find a man leaning against the brick wall smiling at her.

"How long have you been there?" She asked annoyed at being snuck up on and then watched.

"Around intelligent one," he replied. "May I ask what you are doing examining my horse?" Ren asked as he walked up to her. She stepped back which made him pause, looking at her with a curiously. He suddenly smiled and turned back to his horse to hide it.

It was the girl with the shotgun just outside of town. It was obvious she didn't recognize him or his horse, but he recognized her. She was cleaned up a bit and wasn't pointing a gun at him, which made her a lot more approachable, but it was the same girl. Same black hair pinned up the same way, simple clothes that showed some wear but not nearly as badly as her other clothes, and that same hard look came across her face when she asked another question.

"You are the owner of this stallion?" she asked cautiously, hoping that she didn't sound too eager.

"Perhaps," he replied, "though you haven't answered my question. Are you a vet? Did you see something wrong with him?"

"Goodness no," Kyoko quickly replied, "He's absolutely perfect," she said with the sweetest of smiles on her face. Ren was taken back. Never before had he seen such a beautiful smile, and never would he think that it would come from her. It was like she was a completely different person. It was a shame it was for his horse though. He watched her speak and then realized she was talking to him and not Rusty again.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Ren asked, embarrassed that he was distracted.

"He needs new shoes," she stated again, pointing to Rusty's hooves. She looked at him as if she were talking to a child. This girl treated him like he knew nothing about horses, like a simpleton.

"I replaced them just recently actually, I'm sure he will be fine for another week or so," Ren stated frankly and started to untie his reins from the post. Kyoko cocked her head confused. He was upset, though she didn't understand why. She wanted to ask if she offended him and to counter his objection for new shoes but instead was started to feel as her last chance for a foal was slipping through her fingers.

"Ah, excuse me, sir," Kyoko quickly called out, stopping him from mounting up. "If I may have just a moment of your time, I would like to talk to you about a possible business arrangement." She looked up at him with hopeful adoring eyes, and he frowned realizing that she was just using his horse to get to him.

"Look, Miss..."

"Kyoko Mogami," she quickly told him her name.

"Miss Mogami, you are very pretty," he said causing her to stiffen, baffled by his statement, "I am flattered by your proposal, but I am not looking for a wife. I am only here for..."

"Stop!" she screamed out in a panic. Ren blinked at her as she started wiping sweat from her brow with a handkerchief. "Please do not misunderstand me, I was hoping to use your stallion to breed with my mares," she finally explained surprising Ren once again. "I have unexpectedly lost the use of my old stallion and am left with a rather green colt as a replacement. Then I happen to past your horse and couldn't help myself from doing an appraisal," she blushed prettily at her admission, and he could help the little smile that appeared on his lips.

"You are the businessman that everyone is talking about, am I correct?" She asked, and he replied with a nod.

"Are you leaving soon? Is there any way I can persuade you to stay for a week at the most, and we can negotiate a fee for the use of your stallion. I can provide you with room and board at Daruma-ya's for the duration of your stay, and if you like you can have first pick of the foals that are born next year, Mister...?"

Ren looked at her for a moment. He could tell she was a little desperate but for once the woman in front of him was not desperate for him but for his horse. It was a refreshing turn of events. Though he wondered if the moment he told her his name, she would take her friendly attitude back.

"Ren Tsuruga," he introduced himself again and saw her whole demeanor change. He wanted to laugh at all the different emotions she went through at the sound of his name. Kyoko blinked up at him as if she didn't hear him and then her eyes widened at the recognition. Her face burned up a brilliant scarlet red in embarrassment and finally she turned pale ghostly white in fear.

"Ren Tsuruga," she whispered almost inaudibly. "The man from last night..." she asked softly, and he nodded. She pressed her lips together and started to shake, tears started filling her eyes, and he took a step towards her in concern, but then she bowed down deeply.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Tsuruga. I didn't know who you were, and I was frightened. I thought you were there to steal one of my horses or maybe to break into the house for valuables. If I knew who you were, I would have never, ever pointed my gun at you or mistreated you so cruelly. How can I ever make it up to, is there anything I can do to settle this infraction?"

"Miss Mogami, please stop," he pleaded with her as they started to draw a crowd, but she didn't stop her sorrowful ranting. "Miss Mogami, please stand up." He gently touched her shoulder, and she snapped up, instantly retreating from his hand. Ren was confused by the action but dismissed it.

"I'm not upset, Miss Mogami. I accept your apology though I believe I was the one in the wrong in that situation. You did the right thing, though I would think next time your father should take care of the strangers on your land," he said with a little smile. A heartbreaking look appeared on her features the moment he finished and wondered what he had done this time to cause such a reaction from the young lady.

"Yes, if he were still with me, he would have," she replied quietly, looking at the ground as if she could still see him.

"Oh, my condolences, Miss Mogami or should I be referring you as Mrs. Mogami?" He asked worried if he made a mistake. She looked to be about 15 or so, just barely into the marrying age; however, if her father died, they might have sped up the marriage.

"I am not married, Mr. Tsuruga," she said almost angrily. Again, Ren received another emotion that he was never intending. The moment that he thought he had this girl figured out, she came out with another left hook, completely stopping him in bewilderment.

"I am sorry, if I offended you, Miss Mogami. It was wrong of me to assume that you would be married so young," he lightly bowed trying to make amends only to further infuriate her.

"How old do you think I am? 12?" she asked hotly.

"Um," Ren straightened up, "14? perhaps 15?"

"I'm 17," she correctly once again stupefying him.

"I'm very sorry. You look..."

"Yes, yes," Kyoko interrupted wanting to rid this annoying conversation about her lack of feminine charm and go back to the task in hand, "About your horse, Mr. Tsuruga. I can pay for your stay here for the week as you conduct whatever business you have in town. If you need to travel somewhere close, I can give you one of my geldings for your use. I would hope that we can come to some sort of agreement that would benefit us both?"

Ren had to reanalyze the woman in front of him every time she spoke. After everything she said, he knew he had to treat her like another businessman for the only reason she was speaking to him was for business. Ren coughed.

"I'm sorry, Miss Mogami, but it would be difficult for me to stay here for a week. You will have to find your stallion elsewhere," Ren stated and pulled himself into his saddle. "I wish you luck in your search and a good evening." He started moving his horse back, with Kyoko watching Rusty move. He waited for her to say goodbye or any polite farewell but none came, so he decided to simply leave. He slipped his hat back on and started to walk away. Kyoko moved out to the street and watched him.

"I'll put you in the Fuwa Inn," she yelled out, making him stop and look back at her. She ran up to him, the tiny girl not even reaching his knee.

"Please, Mr. Tsuruga, please reconsider," Kyoko implored, looking up at him with huge gold eyes.

He sighed and leaned down to talk to her, "Why do you want this so much?"

"My ranch is everything to me. If I don't do this, if I don't at least try..." her words stopped as her emotions overwhelmed her. He pulled himself up straight and looked around. The town held promise, but he never planned on staying a week anywhere, but then he has been out and about for the last three months. His body and mind was tired from his trip, resting for only a day or so at a time then trotting off. Perhaps he could use this week as a sort of vacation. As he looked around the town, his eyes found the two most vexing women he has ever met, Mimori and Erika. He shuddered at the thought of being within their grasp for an entire week. He looked down at Kyoko who was waiting patiently for his answer.

"Do you have a bath?" he finally spoke, asking such a bizarre question.

"Y...yes, why?" Kyoko asked uneasily.

"I would like to stay at your ranch then," he responded casually as if it wasn't such a outlandish request. He then leaned down and held out his arm for her to climb aboard his horse. She looked at him and then his arm and back at him in alarm.

"Wha... Wait," she stuttered and took a step back. She looked up at him, "The Fuwa Inn has baths, private ones with everything you could ever ask for. My home is an old ranch, the bath is a little tub, probably too small for you to fit in."

Ren frowned. He didn't want to stay at the Fuwa inn where he was sure he would be trapped with the very people who were trying to fence him in. He wanted peace if he was going to take a vacation. This woman had absolutely no interest in him other than in his horse, and he found that he wanted to get to know her more.

"Do you not have the room?" He asked.

"I do," she replied honestly making him smile. Even in a state of distress, she is a good honest person. "But for a strange man to come and live with an..."

"Your mother is there, is she not? I'm sure that I will be kept in line by the lady of the house," he stated with a humorous smile that disappeared the moment Kyoko started to look upset. _Damn it, _he cursed. _I did it again. What is with this woman?_

"My mother died giving birth to me. I'm alone," she said solemnly.

"No brothers, aunts, uncles or even grandparents?" He asked, and she shook her head, and then suddenly looked at him.

"So you see, it wouldn't look right to have a man coming to live with an unmarried woman living alone. Please understand. The Fuwa Inn is very nice," she again tried to keep his interest in staying if only to breed some new blood into her herd. He sighed and hopped off his horse.

"I'll tell you what," he spoke quietly, hoping that she was the only one to hear him, "Tonight I will stay at the Daruma-ya Bed and Breakfast, finish all of my research tomorrow and then leave town," Ren paused as Kyoko was about to speak. He held up his hand asking her to please wait as he continued, "Instead however, I will take a one week vacation at your ranch. You live so far from the town that no one will know I'm there. I've been traveling so much recently that a week off sounds like a wonderful idea."

"But why must it be at my ranch?" she whispered in near hysteria.

Ren was unwilling to state his woes and instead manipulated the poor girl into agreeing rather than explaining, "Those are the first terms and conditions for the use of my stallion. If you rather not, then I will be on my way." He turned and made the motions to get back on his horse.

"Wait," she called out, and he smiled. He turned to look at her who was thinking things through. "Okay. If I allow you to stay at my home, you will allow him to breed with my mares," she said and then quickly added, "I want the agreement on paper with both of our signatures on it the moment that you enter my home."

"That can be arranged. I shall see you tomorrow then," he stated with a smile as Kyoko nervously left, pondering if she did the right thing.


	5. Preview

Chapter 5

It wasn't. It was horrible!

She was a single woman and allowing any man to come into her home and live with her with who knows what horrible intentions he had was improper. Not to mention the fact that she really wasn't alone. She had Maria with her and to give a young girl the impression that what she was doing was acceptable was immoral. Kyoko was almost out of the city when she remembered that Maria was at school. Taking out her pocket watch, she realized that school was almost out, so she headed over to pick her up.

Maria ran out to her the moment Kyoko was seen. She smiled brightly at the sweet girl and kneeled down to hug her. Maria flew into her arms, and Kyoko picked her up effortlessly.

"Did you have a fun time at school? What did you learn?" Kyoko asked as she started to walk home. Maria started talking about every little thing that happened with so much energy that Kyoko had to put her down. Which was for the better, since the walk home was rather long. Kyoko allowed herself to forget her current situation and focus on the little girl with her. She cooked them dinner, had more of the apple pie from yesterday and even went riding on Windy again as promised. Maria was so tired from everything she retired long before the sun did.

Kyoko took the time to bring all the horse into the stables. There were only five of them, her two younger mares, Windy and Sandy, her colt, Apollo, an older mare that helped rule the herd with Kyoko named Roxy and then finally her gelding, Hermes. She took the time to rid them of any debris collected in their manes and looked them over for any injuries they may have incurred. She noticed a gash on the thigh of Apollo's hind leg.

"Ooo, you were being reckless again, Apollo," she gently looked at the wound and found a little debris in it. She left her stable and walked over to the water pump. She filled up a bucket of water and carted it back into Apollo's stall. After setting it down, he took a drink making Kyoko smile and then laughed as he was drinking it all.

"Oi, there's a pond for you to drink in, why didn't you drink that?" She asked once he was finally finished. More than half of the water was gone so she set out again to refill it. This time he didn't drink it. Kyoko started to calmly pet him, humming a soft tune. She found that a soothing song along with her gentle touches would help relax them.

"Down," she said softly and continued humming. Slowly Apollo started to sit making Kyoko nod and sing soft words of encouragement. She continued to stroke and eventually Apollo lay down in his stall. She was so very happy when she was able to train him to do this. It took longer than most, but it showed her promise that he could become the new sire next year. Though if Tsuruga-san's horse provided new foals, she could postpone his debut for the next.

She hummed and pulled the bucket of water over. Dipping her hands in it, she pull out a little bit of water and gently cleansed the wound. Apollo almost jumped at the first contact of the water but Kyoko's gentle guidance allowed him to stay put. Once done she stood up and away from Apollo allowing him to stay as he is or stand up. He stood up.

"Good boy, Apollo, good boy. You deserve a treat for being such a patient boy," she said and turned to get him an apple.

"You're very good with horses," Ren said, coming out of no where, making Kyoko jump out of her skin.

"Would you Please Stop sneaking up on me!" Kyoko demanded making Ren laugh.

"You started it," he teased making her look up at him puzzled. He was smiling playfully at her which made her brush off the comment. She was never able to look at him completely until now. He was as handsome as the women were stating, tall with nice features. He had long dark blonde hair that he tied back with a simple tie. He had green eyes that sometimes looked blue and a very nice smile. His overall physique seemed lesser somehow, his clothes a little baggy in certain areas meaning he was thin. She thought that was a minus, but Kyoko knew that his smile was his winning point, and those eyes.

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming over until tomorrow," she asked as she grabbed an apple and fed it to Apollo.

"I had some free time, and I wanted to check out the place before I moved in," Ren replied with a half-truth. If he were to tell the whole truth, he was running like a mouse from a field full of cats, but even the truthful part of that lie wasn't completely so. He wanted to see her again. His mind was plagued with thoughts of her, her actions, and words. Questions filled him about her, simple things like how did she learn about horses, and if she was wealthy enough to keep him in the Fuwa Inn, why did she not care enough to buy the latest fashions like the other women in her town? She was so different from anyone's he's met that he thought her like a puzzle, one he wanted to solve.

"I suppose you have that right," she said suspiciously. "I'll show you around, but I must warn you that there is a little girl sleeping in my bedroom, and I ask that you not disturb her." She started to lead the way, and he followed.

Ren didn't know what to think of that statement. He had asked about family, and she didn't mention having a sister which only left him with one other thought, a daughter. Though he has put his foot into his mouth the entire day with her and thought to rephrase his question.

"May I ask who she is?" He asked carefully earning a little smile from Kyoko.

"You may. She is Maria Takarada, the Sheriff's granddaughter. I am taking care of her for a few days until he returns from up north. I'm sorry to say that her mother passed and her father is constantly out for business, so I often take care of her when Sheriff Takarada has to leave," she explained, giving him a perfectly logical explanation.

"That's very kind of you," Ren replied honestly. "Are you close to the Sheriff's family?"

They stopped at the front of the house, and she turned to answer him with a coy smile, "Yes, so if you try anything funny, he will string you up to the nearest tree and let the birds pick your bones clean."

Ren smiled noticing her teasing tone and quickly replied, "Yes, ma'am. I will be as perfect as a schoolboy in church."

"Oh that sounds promising," Kyoko retorted with a soft laugh. She opened the door and let him in, taking in how he automatically took his hat off when entering. _A proper gentleman, _she gave a little nod to herself.

"Welcome to my humble home. The first room is pretty self explanatory, my kitchen. I have some provisions inside the house but there are more canned and dried goods in the storage keep outside. The key to the shed is right here," she lifted her hand to a hook that was nailed to the side a set of shelves. "I assume I will be preparing all of your meals, Mr. Tsuruga?"

"I will admit that I am not much of a cook, so yes, Miss Mogami. Though it might be nice to hear that I do not eat very often, so the demand of your time will not be much," he tried to sound reassuring to give her something to make her feel better about this whole arrangement but once again he failed. Instead of laughing or enjoying the idea of less to cook, she frowned and tilted her head confused.

"How often do you eat?" She asked, wishing for more information before she voiced her concerns.

"Whenever I'm hungry. I don't really keep track of my meals," he said with a timid smile.

"Hmmm," Kyoko dismissed his comment but still looked at him with regard. She continued with her tour, walking through her living room. It held a simple couch along with an old used overstuffed chair, a small table and the fireplace for the winter months. The next thing was a door that was closed.

"This is my room," she whispered, not feeling the need to show him that, especially with Maria sleeping in there at the moment, and moved to the door next to it. This one was opened, showing a large bed with a simple wooden trunk at the foot of it. There was several hooks lining the closest wall for jackets or whatever items that needed to be hung.

"This..."she said softly, pausing to look around the room. She took a deep breath and turned moist eyes up at him. "You'll be staying here. The trunk is currently full, but I will have that emptied out for you by tomorrow." She took another breath, trembling softly. She gave him a fake smile and quickly started out the room. "Next is the bath," she said with a false enthusiasm. Ren stopped her his arm appearing in her way out.

"Is this your father's room?" He asked gently. Kyoko nodded not trusting her voice.

"You don't have to..."

"No," Kyoko interrupted and rubbed her hands over her eyes. She looked up at him and his whole body had to fight the urge not to touch her. Her gold eyes were shinning with unshed tears but in them was an inner strength, something he hasn't seen in anyone but his own father. A strength that he wished he himself had, to survive and live on even with no one there to help you.

"No, it's fine, Mr. Tsuruga," she said, "I would offer you my room, however the bed is much too small for you. This would be more comfortable, and it's only for a week. Come, let me show you the bath." When she finished talking, any trace of her sadness or tears were gone, and Ren was once again left marveling this girl.

"This was a gift to my mother," Kyoko told him in her normal voice as they stepped outside. "Daddy told me that it was his gift to her once he found out she was pregnant with me. She always said she wanted her own bath so he built this little room for her and bought her this tub."

She opened the door to reveal a beautifully made room, something he had only seen in spas. The tiny tub she was referring to was a round wooden one, and was plenty large for him to dip in. No doubt she thought he would want to stretch his legs, but he could do that in bed. He didn't mind sitting crossed legged in a round tub. It was made out of red wood and very well kept. There were a few steps that allowed the person to step in comfortably. Her father keeping his pregnant wife in mind when buying it.

All he was expecting was a simple tub on dirt, probably even placed outside. The fact that it was in a room was wonderful, the added bonus that there was a floor was even more so. The floor was actually what made the room. Kyoko's father took the time to find large flat rocks to fill up the entire floor. Each rock looked hand washed and even polished with only the barest of cracks between each set stone. He doubt he could slip a finger in any one spot. The stone floor would allow a wet person to come out and actually stay clean.

Another spectacular thing was there was a fireplace in the room. Ren frowned, it actually looked rather familiar. "May I?" He asked wanting to walk into the room and look. She nodded, a warm smile on her lips. He walked over, the heel of his boot clacking on the stone and kneeled down very low to look into the fireplace. Beyond the torched logs and blackened ash he saw the living room.

"It goes through," he said as if she didn't know. Her giggle brought his attention back at her.

"Daddy didn't want her to be cold so he made the fireplace into a two way. Pretty inventive huh," Kyoko said proudly. Ren stood up impressed but also concerned. He looked down to see a small bench about three feet in front of the fireplace with a wooden bucket beside it.

"Why the bench?" He asked, and kneeled down again to find the wood smooth to the touch as if it was lacquered.

"I put that in," Kyoko admitted, "While I do enjoy the tub, I find it difficult to use, having to fill it up with hot water every time I wished to bathe. I put this in so I can wash myself quickly and still have the heat of the fireplace in winter."

"So close to the fireplace?" He asked

"Oh, no, I pull it back. The ground is slopped so all the water drains away from the house. I move the bench towards the middle when I use it," Kyoko explained, and Ren had to look down at the floor again. Sure enough, the cracks between the rocks seemed to get deeper as he moved away from the main house.

"Amazing," Ren whispered to himself. Kyoko didn't hear him as she was taking in her own bathroom. He looked at the fireplace. It's design still bothering him.

"Are you worried about people seeing you with the open fireplace?" Ren asked what he thought might be conceived as a silly question.

Kyoko immediately shook her head and laughed. "It would be terribly uncomfortable if they tried. You had to go to your hands and knees to see into the living room, remember? Even then your head was almost touching the floor. Someone would have to purposely lay on the floor to look into the other room. Second, I live a..." a thought suddenly crept into her mind, "lone. You wouldn't, I mean..." she started to blush and took a step back from the man in question.

He gave her an incredulous look that reminded her so much of Shotaro that her temperament went from friendly to hostile in less than a second. "Yes, well, now that we both cleared up that misunderstanding, you should probably go. It is getting dark out, and you might get lost returning to town. I will show you the rest of the land tomorrow once the contract is completed."

Ren frowned at another complete change in attitude and decided it was indeed time to go. "I believe you are correct, Miss Mogami. I shall see you tomorrow, as soon as my work is done. I hope to have a pleasant, peaceful stay." Kyoko heard an underlining tone in his voice that did not match the kind words or polite smile on his lips. She frowned not understanding this man.

"I shall do my best by you Mr. Tsuruga. I want our business transaction to be fruitful for both of us. You have my word that you will not see me unless you desire to," she stated coldly as she followed him to his horse. Ren wanted to tease her, use those double meaning words and make her eat them with that flush to her cheeks he had seen this afternoon but held back.

"I bid you goodnight then, Miss Mogami," Ren said his farewell and rode off before Kyoko could give him hers.

"What an arrogant man," she whispered to herself. _No doubt he is a rake just like Shotaro, _she added mentally and then went inside to join Maria in slumber.


	6. Confrontation

Chapter 6

The next morning Kyoko was up the moment the sun peeked over the horizon. It was like a switch was flipped inside of her. She was dead to the world one moment and the next her eyes were open and alert. She went on automatic, combed her hair and pinned it up in the same wide bun at the base of her skull she always had. Her style of clothes were always the same, simple long working skirt and a well used long sleeve, high neck blouse, so her morning routine didn't distract her from thinking about what she needed to do today.

_I need to get Maria to school, to get things ready for Mr. Tsuruga and clean up father's room. I need to take Apollo to the vet and get that gash treated and oh there's the contract and of course to even see if my mares like his stallion. What is his name? I never asked for the horse's name. I'm such a bad person. _

As she finished getting dressed, Maria woke up, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Good Morning," she said with a little yawn drawing Kyoko's attention.

Kyoko smiled and went over to kiss the little girl's forehead. "Good morning, Maria. Did you sleep well?"

Maria smiled sweetly at Kyoko and nodded. "I think I had a dream about mama and papa last night. I heard voices talking and laughing together," her excited smile dimmed into a weak frail smile. "It was like I was little again," her voice cracking slightly. Kyoko's heart sank knowing that the dream she had was probably her fault. She sat on the bed next to Maria and took her into her lap.

"It's okay, Maria," she murmured softly holding her tightly. "I know things are hard right now, and it seems so unfair but things will get better," she tried to reassure her. Maria pulled away and looked up at her.

"Really? Are things better for you?" She asked innocently. Kyoko fought not to cringe. If she were honest, no. Things have been falling apart for her since she was 15. First her heartbreak with Shotaro, then her father's death and now the stallion situation. A small smile lit her lips, well she almost has the last problem settled, if the next week goes well then she could say yes, so she did.

"Yes," she said hoping that word wouldn't later become a lie. "Things are slowly getting better bit by bit. It's still rough, and sometimes I feel like just running away, but what you do during these tough times that makes you a strong person."

"Like you!" Maria said cheerfully making Kyoko blush. "I want to be strong like you. Grandpa always tells me that you are so strong and smart, but that you need a husband."

Kyoko snorted. She was getting teary eyed and flustered at every word Maria was saying and was about to break down and then she drops that little bomb on her. She couldn't help but laugh. Lory was like an old woman sometimes, always playing match maker.

"He's been trying to set me up with your father for the longest time. That man can be so insane some times," she said offhandedly, but Maria loved the idea.

"Really? So you would be a part of my family, we can play and ride horses everyday? That would be wonderful," Maria exclaimed, and Kyoko wanted to die. She didn't mean to get her hopes up. Kyoko stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of a way to escape her little slip up.

"Maria, do you remember how much your papa loved your mama?" She asked wondering if she could remember that far back, but Maria nodded.

Kyoko smiled softly. "Daddy was the same way. He would tell me stories about my mother, how they met and their time together. He said I have her laugh and smile. He would always try and get me to smile, because it reminded him so much of her," she told her gently, the love for her father shinning through.

"I want that, Maria," Kyoko started to explain, "When I get married, I would like for my husband to love me as much as your papa loved your mama, as much as my father loved my mother. While I believe that your papa would respect me and maybe even love me someday, he will never treat me like he did your mama."

Maria still looked a little sad as she sat quietly thinking over her words. Kyoko didn't know if she would be able to understand such adult thinking, but she couldn't think of another way to explain it. Finally after some time, Maria looked up at her sadly.

"Does this mean I'll never have a mama again? Will papa never smile again?" The question was so sincere and so tragic that Kyoko had to hold back a sob.

"Your papa smiles, Maria. What is the first thing he does every time he comes back from a trip?" She asked her confident that the response will be a positive one.

Maria smiles. "He lifts me up into the air and then hugs me so tightly that I sometimes can't breath," she said with a bell like giggle.

"Exactly," Kyoko agreed with a smile. "He is slowly starting to smile again and live again. He loves you so much that he will find a new mama for you, and will be smiling and laughing like a family again in no time."

"What if she is like Miss Mimori or Miss Erika?" Maria made a cute sour face making Kyoko laugh.

"Do you really think that bad of your papa? If he wanted to marry someone like those two, he would have already proposed to one of them. He will find someone you like because you are his most precious person," she told her which made Maria smile brightly.

"Now, we need to eat and get ready for school, we are not going to have another episode like yesterday," Kyoko told her setting her down onto the floor.

"Aww, but I wanted to ride Windy to school again," Maria said, her night gown muffling her voice as she pulled it off.

"We'll see if we have time to go out again tonight but..." Kyoko paused remembering a certain someone was going to move in sometime today. She eyed the little girl carefully as she started to get dress. How was she going to explain this? Even to a little girl, especially one as smart as Maria would understand the implications of this arrangement. Still she didn't know when Lory would be back, and Maria had to know. Maria finished dressing and moved in front of Kyoko so she could tie the laces on the back of the dress. She picked up a little doll she brought with her from home as Kyoko gathered all of Maria's wild hair and moved it over the girl's shoulder.

"Maria, tonight I am going to have a guest stay with me for a little bit," Kyoko said hoping in vain that she wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Is Miss Kanae coming to live with you?"

Kyoko smiled and shook her head as she pulled the laces up Maria's back. "No, that would be fun though, wouldn't it?"

Maria nodded and then asked the right question, "Who is it?"

Kyoko hesitated answering until she was finished tying up the dress. Now she had to brush her hair. Grabbing her hair brush from the night stand she started to run it through Maria's curls. Rather than plunging into who the guest is, Kyoko thought to start from the beginning.

"Do you remember us selling Perses to the Fuwas?" Maria nodded still playing with the little doll. "Well Shotaro won't let me use Perses for this year's mating season, so..."

"Why not?" Maria interrupted asking a very good question. She didn't know. That stupid incorrigible man didn't make a lick of sense to her.

"He had other plans, and they didn't match up with mine," she said bitterly but continued the story, "I wasn't going to able to breed this year until I accidently found another stallion. The man coming over tonight is the owner, and he is staying to make sure that I don't do anything bad to his horse."

Maria made a funny face, though Kyoko couldn't see it. "You would never hurt a horse," she said as if stating the obvious.

"That's true, but he doesn't know that. He is just being cautious. His stallion is very beautiful, and Mr. Tsuruga wants to protect it. I would do the same thing in his situation if it was one of my babies."

Maria nodded, waiting patiently for her hair to be done. It took forever to get through all her hair, and she had to get use to standing still for a long period of time. She hated the idea of getting it cut, because everyone always told her how much her hair reminded them of her mother, she never wanted to let it go. "That makes sense then," Maria told her casually making Kyoko release a breath that she was holding.

"Thank you, Maria. He is a kind man and very polite, so he should be a good house guest," she told her and realized that she truly did think him as such.

"I would very much like to see his horse but I'm not sure I can. Grandpa told me that he was going to try and be back today when he left," she twisted her head towards Kyoko, "If he does, can we have dinner here tonight anyway, so I can see his stallion?"

Lory. Kyoko's eyes widened and panic started to set in. She didn't even think about the Sheriff coming by to pick up his granddaughter. Oh, if he finds out that a man is living with her, he would surely force a shotgun wedding. Kyoko quickly spun Maria around and looked her in the eye.

"Maria, I need you to do something for me," she said seriously to the little girl, "You mustn't ever tell your grandpa that Mr. Tsuruga is living with me. Even when he is gone, you can't tell anyone he was ever here."

Maria frowned confused. "Why not?"

"Because he wouldn't understand, not like you do. He would start to question things and then Mr. Tsuruga might want to leave, and there goes my chance for new foals," she clarified, and Maria's eyes brightened at the mention of baby horses.

"You're going to get new babies? Can I be there for the birth, please, Kyoko, please?" she begged, jumping up and down with big doe eyes. Kyoko smiled.

"Yes, yes, so long as your promise not to tell," she added making Maria nod furiously. "Good, now let's finish your hair and we'll go eat, then off to school."

After she dropped Maria off at the school, Kyoko went into town for some provisions and to drop Apollo off at Dr. Ogata's. She wanted new sheets for the bed and got some extra food, like meat and eggs. She hasn't cooked for a man in such a long time other than an occasional meal for Lory, but she remembered the things her father liked, so she thought to make that for Mr. Tsuruga. She was tempted to buy shaving supplies and other things a man may need but worried about rousing suspicion. She would just have to renew her father's old things.

Remembering what Maria said, Kyoko stopped by the Sheriff's office as if just by chance. Deputy Sebastian was sitting behind the front desk looking as he normally did. There was a drunkard sleeping it off in one of the cells but other than that, everything looked normal.

"Miss Kyoko," Sebastian greeted her.

"Good Morning, I was curious if you heard from the Sheriff about his return. Maria is hoping that he would be returning today," she asked, hoping that it did sound like Maria was missing her grandfather.

"He should be back this afternoon, Miss Kyoko," Sebastian stated gracing her with a complete sentence.

"Ah, Does that mean he will pick her up at school today?" She asked, and Sebastian nodded. She seemed to visibly relax making Sebastian look at her curiously.

"Alright then. I have an injured horse, so I was a little concerned about collecting Maria at the end of the day," she quickly added an extremely lame excuse.

"Is everything okay?" Yukihito came out to pour himself a new cup of coffee. Kyoko spun around with a nervous laugh and quickly nodded.

"Yes, it's just a little scratch but one can never be too careful. A horse's legs are very important. I should go, thank you for the information. I hope you both have a very nice day," she quickly departed with all of her packages in tow. Both men watched her leave puzzled by her actions. She practically ran from the station as if she was hiding something.

"You don't suppose she killed and buried the Fuwa boy, do you?" Yukihito asked as if to explain her sudden nerves. Sebastian smiled and almost laughed, but Yukihito laughed for him.

"Yeah, you're right. That would be too good to be true. I doubt anyone would care if he disappeared if she did though," he stated and returned to his office.

Kyoko was in a complete fluster as she escaped from the office, so much in fact that she wasn't looking at where she was going and bumped into a man dropping most of her items.

"I'm so sorry, sir. Please forgive me," she said bowed and then frowned when she saw who it was.

"Clumsy as ever," Shotaro jeered at her making her want to growl at him. She bent down to pick her up items trying not to be spurred on by his words. _Ignore him, ignore him. Calm down, _she told herself. Unfortunately, he felt like having a little fun with her and decided to "help" her with her items by looking through them rather than collecting them for her.

"Those are rather masculine sheets," he mumbled as he looked into the paper bag. She yanked those from him glaring at him as he frowned at the bag. Something in him didn't like her having those, but he didn't say anything since he didn't understand this feeling.

"What do you want, Shotaro," she finally snapped as he pushed away a bag of potatoes out of her reach. He ignored her question and asked one of his own.

"Have you given any thought of my proposal?" He asked making her freeze half way towards those potatoes.

"I have not, and I never will," she rasped angrily, snatching the bag of potatoes away from him. She gathered all of her items messily in her arms and stood up. "I will never sell you the ranch. I would rather it burn to the ground than have it under your name," she spat at him and started to walk away. He grabbed her arm roughly making her spin slightly.

"You are nothing without that ranch. Don't think I would take you in if you suddenly lost it," he barked at her making her see red. She jerked her arm from his grip with her eyes ablaze in fury.

"As if I would **ever** crawl back to that life of servitude. I would rather be a whore than to work for you," she retorted angrily. Shotaro grabbed her chin and forced her towards him. His grip was so hard, she had to bite back a whimper at the pain.

"That can be arranged very easily," Shotaro looked at her darkly, and she wanted to spit in his face.

"Let her go, boy," a deep voice said sternly beside them. Both looked at the source to find Ren standing there looking extremely angry. Kyoko went white as a ghost the moment she saw him. Never before had she seen such a scary man.

"This doesn't concern you, Tsuruga," Shotaro turned his glare towards the taller man, letting go of Kyoko's face. She took a step back from both men and moved her jaw to ensure it still functioned. Shotaro sized up the larger man but didn't back down like he should have. Everything in Kyoko's body was telling her to run, surely Shotaro could feel those same instincts.

"You should mind your own business and walk away," Shotaro threatened and all Kyoko could think was, _Stupid man! _ She had forgotten that Shotaro's pride was larger than his intelligence. "This is between me and my wo..."

"You so better not finish that word, Shotaro," Kyoko yelled, her fears being replaced by her anger. She bravely stepped between the two men. By this time, they had a small audience looking at their little pubic drama. She whispered harshly to him, mixing fire with her words, "I do not belong to you, Shotaro. I am not your possession for you to pick up and throw away whenever you like. You ended the engagement, and that was the end of it."

"There was never an engagement," Shotaro retaliated making Kyoko nod.

"Ah, yes, that was my misunderstanding as well," she said scornfully, "I suppose I should be thankful you don't think things through better. Trying to use Perses to manipulate me into selling the ranch to you, if you had just married me, you would have gotten everything. I'm sure marriage to such a plain, boring girl wouldn't have stop you from fooling around with all the women in town anyway!"

"I would never..." he started to yell back and found all the aghast faces looking at them, whispering little comments about the argument. His eyes went up to find Ren still looking at him fiercely and made a dismissive sound. He leaned in towards Kyoko making her take a step back, in effect pressing her back against Ren's. She looked up at him fearful that he might get upset up, but her attentions quickly returned to Shotaro.

"You need me, Kyoko. You need my stallion if you are going to make it on your own," Shotaro whispered harshly. Kyoko was about to tell him off again when she felt a very large warm hand on her shoulder.

"She doesn't. She has mine now. Your services are no longer required nor wanted," Ren very carefully spoke as if he was trying to keep a lid on a boiling pot of water. Kyoko didn't know what to do. She watched Shotaro's face twist from anger to confusion to outrage and then back to anger. His eyes kept flickering to the hand on her shoulder, and she could see the tension in his body as he wanted to get physically aggressive, luckily he refrained. Shotaro took a step back and then quickly turned and stomped away, as well as some of their on-lookers.

Kyoko let out a deep breath to try and release the anxiety in her body. She felt Ren squeeze her shoulder, and she realized that she was still leaning against him. She jumped forward and twisted to him, bowing down.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Tsuruga, for leaning on you like that and then to involve you in my petty affairs," Kyoko started ranting her remorse making Ren smile softly at her.

"I came of my own free will, Miss Mogami. I can not stand idly by while a person dares to harm an innocent soul. I can only hope that I did not aggravate things further for you," he asked with a concerned soft expression. Kyoko flushed slightly and bowed down again.

"No, things have always been difficult with him. I thank you for your assistance, Mr. Tsuruga." She stood up and bashfully looked up into his green eyes and then immediately looked down. "I should be going now. I hope your work is progressing well. I..." she stopped, and he knew she had to cut herself short. "Goodbye, Mr. Tsuruga," she finally said. He smiled sweetly at her as she walked away, struggling with her items. He closed in their distance in a matter of two steps and took one of the bags from her arms.

"May I be of some assistance? I'm currently on a little break," Ren lied but gave her a dazzling smile. She looked at him suspiciously but then blushed lightly and shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Mr. Tsuruga. It would be best if you continued your work and not let a simple girl disrupt your progression," she told him, though she did take advantage of his assistance to shuffle things around in her arms, making everything more manageable. Ren smiled down at her, a light in his eyes sparkling, showing it to be a true smile. She took the bag back from him and looked up only to be turned to stone from the look on his face.

He looked positively sinful, those grass green eyes looked dark and stormy with heavy lids looking down at her. His smile was spread into a wicked smirk with a hint of teeth making her heart pound in her chest erratically. Ren bent down towards her as she leaned back trying to keep the distance between them.

"Are you that eager for me to come live with you? Urging me to finish my work, so I can get there sooner?" He teased making her whole face burn a dark red.

Kyoko squeaked and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Finally her red flushed face turned from embarrassment to outrage. "I am not that kind of woman, Mr. Tsuruga. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression, but please make note that I am a lady," she declared making him chuckle. She frowned at him confused, a little wary of him.

"I'm sorry, but you do say the most interesting thing, Miss Mogami," he confessed still not making any sense. Ren bowed. "Please have a wonderful day. I do hope your evening will be better than your morning," he said with a little twinkle in his eyes. Her cheeks flushed again making his smile widen, but she shook her head and walked away. What was it about her that made men want to play with her as if she was some toy?


	7. Loose Lips

Chapter 7

"Welcome back, Miss Kyoko," Dr. Ogata greeted her in a soft shy tone. Kyoko smiled brightly at the pretty man. She knew it was wrong to think of him as more pretty than handsome, but she felt as long as she kept that fact to herself, there would be no harm.

"Hello again, Dr. Ogata. How is Apollo?" she asked as she set down her items on a nearby chair.

"Oh, he is fine. A healthy young colt. That little nick isn't going slow him down at all," he assured her. "He's almost five now. Are you going to break him soon?" Ogata asked curiously.

Kyoko nodded. "I am hoping to be able to replace Perses with him. If his temperament calms down then he will work very well."

"Perses? What's wrong with Perses?" Ogata asked frightened for the poor horse.

Kyoko smiled. "Nothing is wrong with him. Everything is fine, Dr. Ogata. His new owner refuses to let me use him unless I sell him the ranch and..." Kyoko sighed tiredly. "This is an old story, you really should join the social circle, Dr. Ogata," she teased making him blush.

"I don't do well with humans, I much prefer the honesty of animals," he confessed making her smile. She agreed with him to an extent. Some humans were nice. She suddenly smiled a Cheshire cat grin.

"What about Ms. Asami?" Kyoko teased and was rewarded with a extremely embarrassed prince.

"Oh, I... um... we are... she is very... well..." Ogata stuttered with his face inflamed making Kyoko giggle. Ogata while very kind, sweet, intelligent and well off, his pretty features and timid personality didn't make all the women swoon like Tsuruga could. Kyoko frowned at herself. _Why did I think of him? _She shook her head and returned to the fair doctor.

"You look every good together, I do hope that you both are very happy," Kyoko told him making him blush harder but nod in agreeance. There was a loud sound of his front door opening and slamming closed.

"Doc! Are you here?" A man shouted in a panicked voice. Ogata rushed to the front with Kyoko following to find Hikaru Ishibashi holding one of his hound dogs in his arms.

"A damn rattler bit him, Doc. He's hurt really bad. I did what I could and sucked the poison out, but I'm worried. Can you help him? Please tell me you can help him," Hikaru pleaded as he set his dog down on the counter. He looked miserable as his dog whimpered on the wooden counter while the Ogata looked at the wound and nodded. He ran straight towards her. Kyoko quickly moved when she realized he needed to get to the other room, and she was standing in the door way. Ogata grabbed a bottle of ammonia and rushed back. The dog squirmed and whimpered a little when Ogata poured the liquid on the bite. Hikaru whispered softly to his dog to help him calm down.

"You did good, Hikaru," Ogata said softly. "I'm sure with your efforts and the ammonia he will be fine but will you let me keep him over night? I can continue to treat him and we hope for the best. There is no way of telling if all the poison came out."

"Yeah, sure, Doc. I know you will do him right," Hikaru sniffed as he pet the black and brown fur of his hound. The Ishibashi brothers were hunters and relied heavily on their hounds. They brought in most of the town's meat and furs. They also had hidden talents of playing the music at the saloons some nights. Hikaru played the piano and harmonica, Shin'ishi had the banjo and trumpet and Yuusei the fiddle and flute. They were so energetic on stage. The whole town loved them.

"Come to the back and lets put him somewhere more comfortable," Ogata told Hikaru who nodded. He picked up his dog who whimpered softly, and Hikaru finally looked up at her. Surprise and a small blush decorated his cheeks, and he looked down bashfully.

"Miss Kyoko, I'm sorry I didn't see you here," Hikaru mumbled softly, his voice thick with his distress.

Kyoko shook her head. "It's fine. You have more important things to worry about, Hikaru," she told him comfortingly. He nodded and nervously side stepped through the door where she was standing. She kept forgetting she was in the way and stepped through to the front of the office where her items where. Kyoko felt so bad for Hikaru, she was torn wanting to see to him and at the same time knowing she needed to get back home. She heard murmurs in the back room as Ogata and Hikaru spoke and then finally Hikaru came back out with his face dry and eyes red. Kyoko gave him a soft smile and she knew she had to make sure he was okay.

"It will be alright, Hikaru," she came forward and took his arm. He stiffened slightly at the touch of her hand, but she didn't notice and continued her comforting words. "Doctor Ogata is the best and always works his hardest for all his patients." The two of them started walking out the front door. Kyoko looked back to see Ogata watching them and she motioned to her items and held out her hand displaying five fingers. Ogata understood that she wanted some time and would be back, and he nodded making her smile. She turned back to the blushing man and continued her reassurances.

Ogata laughed. All she had to do was smile at the man, and he would fell better about anything. He suddenly frowned and went back to his patient. "There has to be something better to assure...," he took off mumbling to himself.

"How about we go get some cake from Miss Momose's place? You always loved her cakes," Kyoko offered with a sweet smile. Hikaru was torn. He was upset about his dog, but at the same time was really happy that he would get to spend time with Kyoko.

"Oh, I really don't want to bother you, Miss Kyoko. I mean I would love you.. love to if you have the time but..." he stuttered and flushed at the stupid word coming from his mouth. If she caught his slip, she didn't mention it.

"I'm offering, Hikaru, so of course it's okay. Come on," she boosted trying to lift his spirits. She hugged his arm trying to pull him to the little shop. Little did she know that his hesitation had nothing to do with his wounded hound and more to do with his arm pressed firmly against her chest.

Ren sighed as he reviewed more records of the town. In all honestly, he really didn't need to do this, the town was in his top ten list. Even if it didn't end up as his head quarters, it would become one of the stops for the road. So why was he here instead of starting up his vacation? Ren sighed again. He didn't want to seem too eager. He was forcing himself to stay and work, because he didn't want to admit to himself that he wanted to go over there since last night.

"It's just because I'm tired," he grumbled to himself. It had nothing to do with her, her smile or funny personality. He sat up straight and forced himself to look at the paper in front of him when something bright caught the corner of his eye. He turned to look out the window and found Kyoko pulling the arm of some dopey looking man. She was smiling cheerfully as she animatedly spoke about something to him. They were there and then gone in a flash and so was he.

"Are you all done, Mr. Tsuruga?" Kimiko Kamio asked him as he whooshed by her desk.

"Ah, yes," he replied and then looked back to the desk and then out the window trying to keep Kyoko in view. "Um, I'm very sorry, but I left a little..."

"Oh don't worry," she assured him, "It looks like you remembered something rather important to take care of."

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Kamio," Ren said and left. He looked down the boardwalk and found that Kyoko and her mystery man was gone. He frowned and started walking down the boardwalk, peering into store fronts for her dark hair. _What was she wearing? It was a white right? A white blouse? Maybe cream? _He kept trying to remember the color of her clothes while trying not to look insane.

"Excuse me," someone called out to him, and Ren cursed to himself. He turned to find a tall older man with dark black hair and thin mustache. He was a lawman... no, he was the Sheriff.

"What can I do for you, Sheriff Takarada?" Ren greeted him politely. He had read many articles of his efforts to keep the three towns clean of riffraff that Ren knew he was a great man. Sheriff Lory Takarada would be able to handle the increase in population when the rail road came in.

Lory smiled at him and extended his hand. Ren smiled back and shook his hand. "So you know me already? Though that doesn't surprise me with all the questions and research you've done in my town. I just came back today from Northwood and saw a chance to meet you," he explained.

Ren gave him his professional business smile. "Then allow me to introduce myself, though it may not be necessary. Ren Tsuruga."

"And you work for?" Lory asked, the first person in the town to do so.

"The rail road," Ren answered honestly making Lory's interest peek.

"I see. Well that makes sense, now," Lory replied, nodding in understanding, "I read that they were building west but didn't know they were this far out now. Why didn't they send word that they were sending someone down to scout the cities?"

Ren smiled and explained, "We've had some back experiences in the past where some towns were not selected to be a station and felt wronged by the decision. Building a station would increase a town's revenue and popularity a hundred fold, and we want to make sure the towns we pick are capable of such growth."

Lory nodded starting to like this man. "Very well. How long are you here for?"

"I will be leaving for Northwood tonight," Ren lied smoothly. "I understand that town is connected to this one?"

"Yes, it's much smaller than the town to the east, which you've already been to?" Lory asked as if he was testing him. Ren nodded knowing that whatever this man wanted to know, couldn't really harm him. He seemed to accept that he was Ren Tsuruga and not Kuon Hizuri. If he knew, there was a chance that he would have been kicked out of town.

"Clear Creek, yes," Ren verified Lory's concern and the man smiled. "Even if it is smaller, if it is connected to your town, I need to document it. I hope you don't mind," Ren asked trying to appease the overly protective Sheriff.

"Not at all," Lory said, smiling at him again. It seemed that Ren passed his inquisition. The Sheriff's eyes moved past him and chuckled. "I see now that the rumors about your... charm are true though. The ladies of my town are already missing you." He gestured behind Ren with his head causing Ren to turn towards a group of dressed up ladies all whispering and pointing at him. Ren let out an involuntary sigh causing Lory to laugh boisterously. Lory patted his shoulder and turned him around, walking with him down the boardwalk.

"I'd like to apologize for them, but all is fair in love and war. I'm sure you are use to it by now," Lory said with a little humor in his voice.

"Yes and no, can someone really get use to that?" Ren asked rhetorically, "Besides, it's more frustrating since I'm not looking for anyone. With the way things are at the moment," Ren stopped causing Lory to look up at him curiously and caught a quick glimpse of a tortured look on his face, which was quickly replaced with his normal one.

"The traveling isn't done yet, and a wife would make things difficult. Perhaps later," Ren finished with a very logical answer. Lory really couldn't argue with it, but deep down he knew that wasn't the real reason why. Instead of prying, Lory started sprouting his lessons of love.

"You may say that, but love is funny. It doesn't care if you are ready or not, it just happens. You meet a girl and find that you really can't live without her. She creeps into your system and soon, she is apart of you, something you can't let go of nor would you want..." Lory found that he had lost his younger companion. He looked up at him and then looked to where he was looking. He smiled finding Miss Kyoko talking to Hikaru Ishibashi. He smiled and turned back to Ren to find the young man glaring angrily at the sight in front of him. Lory turned back and saw the end of a brief hug that Kyoko gave Hikaru. Oh poor Hikaru was gone, floating up in cloud 9 with delight.

"I guess you already know all this then," Lory mumbled to Ren who finally blinked out of his daze and back to the person talking to.

"I'm sorry, what do I know?" Ren asked, his mask back up and looking confused.

Lory smiled brightly and replied, "Nothing. I must go back to the station now. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Tsuruga. I would say farewell, but I suspect that I will be seeing you again."

Ren frowned not understanding his cryptic statement and then remembered what he was trying to do before. He looked up and found the man she was with walking towards him with a large goofy smile on his lips while Kyoko disappeared again. That girl was like a shooting star, granting a person the barest sight of something magical and then gone a second later. The man walked past him, and Ren fought not to question his relationship with Kyoko. Instead he tried to swallow his aggression and went to the saloon.

"Whiskey," Ren ordered as he sat down on one of the stools. Ryutaro raised an eyebrow at him inquisitively but gave him his drink.

"Bad day?" He asked after Ren drank the entire glass. He grunted and motioned for more. The barkeep knew when to stay quiet and did so as he poured another glass for Ren. Ren picked it up and was about to toss it back when he heard giggling coming from upstairs. He rolled his eyes thinking it was that Shotaro boy again, probably nursing his wounds from earlier. Ren felt like he should leave. With the way he was feeling right now, seeing that prick would only get him into jail.

Ren drank the glass in one gulp and reached into his pocket to pay when he noticed it wasn't him but two girls. He eased up thinking he could stay but was wrong. It was her, Kyoko, and she was talking spiritedly to a beautiful painted girl. He blinked as he watched them. He didn't think she would ever associate with a saloon dancer. Kyoko was a self proclaimed lady and most proper ladies thought all female entertainers were filth. He watched Kyoko hug the other girl who looked terribly uncomfortable with it, yet she had a little smile on her lips. Soon another pretty girl came out, one with short black hair, and Kyoko hugged her too. This one was more responsive. Finally, Kyoko started down the stairs, waving good bye to the two dancers with a large smile.

Ren didn't want to see her, afraid of the things he would say or do. He grabbed the glass, which was filled without him asking and ran to a hidden corner of the bar. He was sitting down in that dark corner with his hat pulled down long before her foot hit the ground floor. She walked over to the bar and started talking happily to Ryutaro. He asked her something, and she nodded while talking a little more. He smiled happily and then reached under his bar to give her a jar of something amber. Ren could hear her gratitude all the way over here and caught a glimmer of her sweet smile making his sour mood lift slightly. They finally said goodbye and Kyoko left with her jar, turning east.

"It was honey," Ryutaro yelled out with a little smile on his lips. Ren turned back at him frowning. _Was I really that obvious? _he thought to himself and sipped his drink.

"My wife take cares of honey bees and gives Miss Kyoko honey in trade for teaching our son about horses," the barkeeper continued to explain. Ren gave him a look as if he didn't care what the situation was and finished his drink. Ryutaro came up to him with the bottle of whiskey.

"More?" He asked, and Ren nodded. Instead of just pouring a drink for him, Ryutaro plopped down with another glass and poured them both one. "She's such a sweet girl. If my son were a little order..." he mentioned offhandedly making Ren frown deeper and him smile wider. "Tragic life though," Ryutaro said sincerely, "No child should grow up without a mother." He took a drink as did Ren listening to him.

"The whole town thought the Fuwa boy was a fool for not marrying her. Well everyone but some of the younger ladies. Those two girls up there are her only friends," Ryutaro explained her visit to them. "Good girls those two, odd but good girls unlike Ruriko. They would do anything for Miss Kyoko, and she for them," he said getting distracted.

"The other girls tend to look down on her because she works hard and acts rough, doesn't dress up like the others. Everything she earns goes back to the ranch and those horses," Ryutaro smiled, thinking. "She never does anything for herself. Then when Hiro died..." he stopped and drank the rest of his drink. "She felt like she had to do everything herself without asking for help from anyone. Nothing new anyway," he poured himself another glass. "I used the excuse of teaching my son horses as a way to sort of help her out. I could have taught Hiou to ride; though he did learn a few extra tricks I didn't know."

Ren smiled, his temper leaving as his mind was filling up with thoughts of her. "Yup, she's a catch. She may not be as pretty as the other girls," Ren frowned at that, but Ryutaro didn't notice and continued, "but anyone with half a mind could see she would make a great wife and a wonderful mother. That's probably why that idiot didn't, brains in his pants instead of his head," he said making Ren snort. No one needed to tell him how much of an idiot that boy was. Still, the town didn't think she was pretty? That puzzled him. Perhaps that was only this man's opinion, because Ren saw a man swooning over her just a little bit ago.

"There is Hikaru, though," Ryutaro continued, his tongue was rather loose today. Maybe he was bored. Ren looked at him, who had heavy lidded eyes. _Or drunk. _ "If I remember correctly, he was talking to her father for her hand a little after Shotaro broke off their engagement. That man was very protective of his daughter and asked him to wait a little bit. Now that he's gone, I wonder how long he will wait. He's probably waiting another year to let her mourn."

Ren wanted to ask questions, lots of different questions. _When did he die? How did he die? Why didn't she marry right away? Couldn't she hire some help for the Ranch? Was she really okay being all alone out there? _Instead of asking him, he wanted to hear it from her. He wanted to get to know her from her own mouth not anyone else. He stood up and paid him. The older barkeep watched him go, a small smile on his lips as he finished his drink.

"Lory is rubbing off on me," he mumbled to himself.


	8. A Gift

Chapter 8

Kyoko finally finished changing out her father's sheets with fresh new ones for Mr. Tsuruga. The chest was emptied, and her father's things were tucked into her closet for safe keeping. She cleaned up the whole house and made sure everything was ready for a guest. Everything was perfect, well as good as it was going to get. When she put the food away, she found that some of her eggs were broken, thanks to a certain half-wit who will remain nameless, but everything else was fine.

It was just after five, and Kyoko wondered if Maria was with her grandfather now. She didn't get a chance to see him in town. Her adventures in town keeping her there way past noon. After cheering Hikaru up, she bought a little cake for Kanae and Chiori, then got the honey from Ryutaro and finally picked up Apollo and her things. She should have made sure Lory was there, but Kyoko wanted to make sure everything was done for tonight. It looks like she was a little too hasty, now having nothing to do. Well there was dinner, a girl had to eat.

Kyoko had bought everything needed for a stew. Not wanting any of it to go bad she set to make it tonight rather than later. She cut up the meat, potatoes and veggies and tossed it to cook over the fire. Everything started to boil nicely, so she moved the pot to the side so it would simmer. As she stirred the pot there was a knock at the door and her whole body went on alert. She stood up and took a deep steady breath. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest as she looked at the door. Nervously, she went to open it, her hands instinctively running over her clothes to make sure she looked alright. She licked her lips as she reached for the handle and pulled the door open finding an extremely drunk man.

"Miss Mogami," he slurred and tried to step inside but stumbled as he tried to pull off his hat and walk at the same time.. Kyoko quickly stepped up and wrapped her arm around his slim waist.

"Mr. Tsuruga, it seems you started your vacation a little too soon," she commented making him bark in laughter.

"You are very funny," he told her as he leaned against her, his arm around her shoulders. "Did you know that? I don't think I have ever laughed as much as when I'm with you," he admitted.

Kyoko wanted to take that as a compliment but found his comment odd. "Considering I have only seen you laugh once or twice, I'm not sure how to take that. Let's go sit down. Dinner isn't ready yet, so I ask you to be patient," she said as she walked with him to the couch.

"I'm not hungry," he told her and then flopped onto the couch when they reached it.

Kyoko pressed her lips together disapprovingly. "It would be best if you ate. A hardy meal will help you clear your mind, and you won't be in pain tomorrow morning," she lectured as she pulled off his boots.

"Why would I be in pain?" Ren asked confused. _Was I in a fight? Nothing feels sore. _He thought to himself. Noticing she was helping get comfortable, he set his hat down and started pulling off his duster. She seemed relieved by this as she patiently waited for him to finish and took his items for him. _She is very kind and sweet. _He thought to himself watching her disappear into a room.

Kyoko hung up his coat and hat then set his boots down just inside the door, and made a mental note that they needed to be shined. When she came out he was looking at her with a small smile. Thinking nothing of it, she walked back into the kitchen. Kyoko wanted to make biscuits, with the honey she even could make them sweet. She was looking forward to them the moment she got the jar. She started measuring out the flour when she noticed his eyes had stuck with her this entire time with a lazy smile on his lips. Kyoko tried to ignore him, but she simply wasn't use to having anyone there, especially a handsome drunk man.

"I think you are very pretty," Ren suddenly told her making her stop mid-motion. She looked at him and then back at the bowl of flour in front of her and blushed.

"Um, thank you?" she said questioningly as she put away the flour. She turned to get the other dried ingredients when he spoke again.

"He said you weren't as pretty as the other girls, but he is wrong. They are all painted up and wearing such fancy dresses that no one can see what they really look like," Ren told her, and she instantly thought he was referring to Shotaro. She slumped a little remembering all the things that Shotaro said in front of Ren. She poured in the other ingredients as he continued, "You're not like that. You're simple and clean, nothing like those other girls."

Unbeknownst to Ren, who honestly thought those were good things, he hurt Kyoko with his supposedly kind words. Tears welted up in her eyes as words like simple was related to plain, clean was translated to boring and saying that she wasn't like the other girls, only meant that the pretty things they wore wouldn't suit her. She didn't want to take it to heart, knew that he was drunk and even sober he often said things he didn't mean. She said nothing when he finished, trying to concentrate on making the biscuits and didn't notice him stand up until he was beside her.

She gasped with her hands deep in the dough. "I told you not to sneak up on me like that," she yelled but her voice was thick from emotion and a tear ran down her face uncontrollably. She blinked and rubbed her cheek against her shoulder. "You better sit back down, Mr. Tsu..." her voice caught in her throat as his hand came up and touched her right cheek. She turned her watery eyes up to him confused.

Ren looked down at her sadly, his eyes dancing in the dimming light of the evening sun. Another tear slipped the corner of her eye and met his thumb. He brushed it away, the tip of his thumb brushing her lashes. She shut both eyes tightly forcing another tear from her other eye. His other hand cupped her left cheek, and her heart couldn't take much more.

"Mr. Tsuruga, please..." she started asking him to sit back down. She removed her hands from the dough to force his hands off her face when he bent down and kissed her.

Kyoko squeaked and wrapped her dough-covered hands around his wrists to push him off but found his kiss to be rather nice. When he pulled back, she found that she had stopped breathing and panted softly.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her lips. His breath smelled strongly of whiskey making her cringe, but he didn't notice. He ran his lips up, over her nose and to her forehead where he kissed her again. "I always say the wrong thing to you. You're so different, so interesting. It's never my intension to hurt you," he whispered softly to her and then pulled back to look into her gold eyes. She saw sincerity in his eyes, but they were also clouded from his drinking. She pulled his arms down and he let her, his warm hands dropping from her face to his side.

"I..."

There was another knock at the door making Kyoko speechless. Ren instinctively went to go answer it when Kyoko stopped him.

"Who is it?" Kyoko yelled out as she held Ren's forearms. He was looking down at her softly, like someone admiring a pretty flower.

"It's Lory. I just wanted to come by and say thank you for taking care of Maria," he replied, then added, "Is everything okay?"

"YES!" Kyoko screamed as she shoved Ren into motion into her father's room. Ren stumbled and fell, face first, onto the bed as he boggled at how very strong the tiny girl was. He turned back towards the entrance to find her shutting the door to the room. Ren blinked, his mind too fuzzy to create a coherent thought about the situation.

Kyoko gave a quick look around for any evidence of Ren and opened the door to find a frowning Lory. "I'm sorry. I was in the middle of kneading, and I didn't want to make a mess and then the stew was overflowing. It seemed like everything went amuck the moment you knocked," she laughed nervously, hoping her lie worked. He looked at her for a moment and then glanced inside and back at her.

"I brought you this," Lory held out a medium round box, "As thanks for taking care of Maria."

"Lory, you know that isn't necessary," Kyoko whined. "If it wasn't for your wife, I'm sure my father would have let me run around naked than deal with dirty diapers." Lory and his wife were one of the few family friends that didn't have a baby of their own to deal with and were willing to help a widower with a newborn.

Lory smiled but shrugged. He couldn't help but find any excuse to spoil her. "I know, but I saw this and thought you would like it. Please accept," he said with sad eyes making Kyoko sigh.

"Well I don't want to touch it yet so come in and set it on the small table," Kyoko told him as she stepped aside to let him in when suddenly a bed room door closed.

"What was that?" Lory asked.

Kyoko smiled and gave a little dismissive wave. "It was probably the wind closing the bedroom door. I opened up the windows to let the breeze in," she explained as she followed him to the living room.

"Why isn't your window open?" He asked curiously.

"I don't want it to get too cold! It's getting dark out," she quickly replied and sat on the floor. "Now what's in the box? I'm eager to see if I'm right," she said eagerly trying to distract the observant sheriff. He smiled and kneeled down opposite her, setting the box on the table between them.

"So you already know what it is?" Lory probed knowing there was no way she could guess.

"I believe so," she started to tell him her guesses as his hands untied the thread. "I'm thinking plates or candles, maybe..."

Lory grinned at her futile practical guesses and pull the top off with a flourish rendering her speechless. Inside was a hat, a pink one with a small brim that was holding a grand design of ribbons and lace of white and baby pink along with large white feathers, and dark pink and white flowers. Lory picked it up as Kyoko stared overwhelmed by the item. Two shear white ribbons came falling down and she gave a questioning look to them.

"It's to tie it to your head," Lory clarified and leaned forward, "Here let me show you."

"NO!" Kyoko screamed, backing away in horror. Lory frowned as he sat back.

"It's just...," Kyoko stumbled over her words, "I'm just so... I... I don't want to dirty it. Please put it back," she said with a shaky voice. Lory did what she asked a little saddened by her reaction. He had seen her look at the pretty items others were wearing. The hat was a far cry from one of those dresses. He thought she could slowly build a pretty outfit with it. He finished putting it back, and he could see her visibly relax.

"I can take it back," Lory told her defeated.

"Why?" she asked with a troubled face. Lory smiled softly and stood up.

"Never mind," he patted her head and started walking out with Kyoko close behind. "Have a good night, Kyoko. Please don't forget to visit, otherwise I'll be forced to bring you in for questioning."

She laughed and nodded. "Under what charge, Sheriff?" she asked jokingly.

"For my death," he told her. "You can't leave an old man alone with an energetic 8 year old girl for too long. My heart can't take it."

"That's not a nice thing to say," Kyoko said bitterly making Lory want to take back his words.

"I'm not serious. It will take a lot more than one child to take me down," he assured her making her smile softly. "Good night," he said again.

She nodded and replied, "Good night, Lory, and thank you for the hat. It's beautiful." She blushed lightly making him smile. Kyoko closed the door, leaving him in the growing darkness. He stood there for a moment and listened. He was expecting voices or another set of footsteps but only heard the click of her dishes in the kitchen. Lory started to walk around her house to where the stables were, and there he saw it.

"That's a new horse," he mumbled to himself, "I know where I've seen you before." He looked at the house and back at the horse, then turned to head back to the station for a little research.

Kyoko quickly finished the dough, cutting out the biscuits and throwing them into the oven. She quickly stepped over to the pot in the fire and checked the stew which was now done, and pulled the pot out of the heat.

"Mr. Tsuruga, dinner is about done," Kyoko called out and went to pull down some bowls. She turned around not finding her guest.

"Mr. Tsuruga," she yelled again and then added, "The Sheriff is gone; it's safe now." Still nothing. She walked over frowning and knocked on the door.

"Mr. Tsuruga?" she spoke in her normal tone and heard a soft rumble come from behind the door. Kyoko pushed the door open to find her guest passed out across the bed with his clothes still on. She giggled softly and closed the door again softly. Kyoko cleaned up and ate alone that night, though she had something very pretty to look at through the entire meal. She washed her hands thoroughly and staged her new hat in front of her, so she could admire it.


	9. A What?

Chapter 9

Ren woke up with a splitting headache. He rolled over and groaned as the morning light pierced his eyes.

"What the hell did that man give me?" He asked no one. Ren wanted to blame Ryutaro, but after leaving the bar he finished off the brandy in his flask and then had a few more drinks at another bar.

It took him a few tries, but he was sitting up right and was slowly focusing on the area around him to find out where he was. The room was clean and simple like the bed and breakfast, but when he looked outside, he found nothing but open space.

So he wasn't at an inn.

There were sounds outside the door, so he got up, pushing back the throbbing in his head and opened the door.

"Good Morning, Mr. Tsuruga," Kyoko greeted him happily making him flinch in pain. When he opened his eyes again, she was in front of him with a large cup of water. "For the headache," she whispered softly to him. He was using both of his hands on the door frame to hold him up, so it took him a moment to lean against the frame and grab the cup. Ren took a sip and tasted bitterness.

"What is this?" he asked, his voice extremely rough.

"Water with citric acid," she informed him. "It will help with the pain."

"Coffee," he demanded and held out the cup without taking another drink. She took the cup, but it wasn't to give him coffee.

"Yes, you'll get your coffee," she told him softly as she took his arm and helped him to the dinning table. "But please drink this first, and I promise I will give you all the coffee you like," she told him as she set him in the chair and then the water cup down in front of him. He looked up at her with a childish frown but did as he was told. As soon as he was done chugging the sour water, she set down a steaming cup of black coffee for him. Ren took a sip and sighed in relief as the dark hot liquid ran down his throat. He let his head dip back and then brought his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

Kyoko didn't say anything, but smiled and continued making breakfast while he sipped his coffee. He finished the first cup rather quickly and his sanity was slowly starting to come back to him. He remembered why he was here though not so much the ride over. He hoped that he stuck to his plan of heading north and circling east to her place. It was too late now to fix it if he didn't.

"May I have some more, please?" He asked politely placing the empty cup towards her. She smiled warmly at him and complied filling it up again.

"Thank you," he whispered and took another sip.

"You're welcome," Kyoko whispered and then set a plate of food in front of him. Ren looked down at the plate in disbelief. There were three fried eggs, hash browns and an extremely thick cut of ham cooked up along with two golden biscuits. His stomach constricted at the sight of it. One look, and he was already full.

"I can't eat all this," he confessed as he stared at the meal. Kyoko looked at the food and then at Ren. That was what her father use to eat for breakfast, and Ren was a little bigger than her father. Then again, Ren did say that he didn't eat much.

"Just eat what you can," she told him and returned to her meal. Ren set his coffee down and didn't know where to start. The easiest thing was the biscuit so he picked that up and ripped it open. Kyoko turned around and smiled as he took a bite. The moment the warm biscuit hit his tongue he jerked in surprise.

"Did you make these?" He asked suddenly.

"Yes, why? Do they taste bad?" She asked, picked one up and took a bite. They tasted the same now as they did last night, so the dough was still good.

"No, they are very good," Ren admitted and took another bite. They were semi-sweet with light touches of honey in them. "They remind me of home," he whispered and added, "better even."

Kyoko blushed. "Thank you. Did your mother cook them for you?" She asked as she served herself her own breakfast. Ren snorted at her question.

"No, the cook did. My mother couldn't cook if her life depended on it," he told her as he broke apart one of the fried eggs with a piece of his biscuit. He sopped some up and shoved it into his mouth once again amazed by the taste. The egg was perfectly cooked, fried in butter and even had salt.

"Wow, a cook. Did your family have other servants too?" Kyoko asked making Ren almost choke.

_Damn,_ _I'm supposed to be middle class. _Ren licked his lips and sat up straight. He couldn't think of a good lie so he told the truth, "A few. They were mostly in the kitchen though. It was a necessity in our home."

"Do you have a big family?" She said longingly. He glanced at her cautiously. She didn't seem to care if he was rich or not. It was more like she was trying to make idle conversation, and that was the first thing that came up.

"No, actually. There is only my parents and myself, but my father has a rather large appetite so several cooks are needed," he told her finding it rather easy to talk to her. He cut up some of the ham which held a hint of smoky sweetness to it.

"Is this smoked?" He asked. Kyoko looked at his plate to find what he was talking about.

"The ham? Yes with a brown sugar glaze. I smoked it a little bit ago. Sadly, this is the last of it. I bought some buffalo meat yesterday and was thinking about smoking it today," she told him as she ate. "Maybe making some of it into peppered jerky, or I can make it spicy. Do you like spicy foods, Mr. Tsuruga?"

Ren shook his head not at her question but because of her. He should stop being so surprised by her by now, but he continuously was dumbfounded.

"So then peppered," Kyoko confirmed. "How much food does your father eat?"

Ren was thrown for a moment going back to himself and his family. He twisted his mouth thinking, embarrassed by the topic and at the same time trying to come up with an answer.

"Take this plate here," he circled the plate with his hand, "and then make about fifty more just like it," he replied. Kyoko's eyes widened as he took another bite. He laughed at she sat there silently trying to contemplate how long that would take to cook or perhaps consume. He watched her go from amazement to seriously thinking about how it's done. She started using her fingers to count out something in her head and nodded every now and again. He loved watching her, even thinking she was amusing. During her actions, Ren had eaten his fill. He was delighted to see that he almost ate half of it. His mother would have been ecstatic. Both biscuits were gone as was one and a half eggs and a quarter of the ham and potatoes.

"I'm finished," he told her, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked down at the dish and frowned, but nodded and took the plate away.

"What a shame," Kyoko whispered as she scrapped everything but the ham into a bowl. She thought she could salvage that. She set the plate aside and returned to her meal.

"What are your plans for your stay?" she asked, once again trying to fill the empty void.

"I'm not really sure. I'll probably go over my notes and slim down the fat from my travels. I might go riding or perhaps catch up on some reading," he added as he thought more and more about it.

"The last part sounds fun," Kyoko said with a smile, "though the first sounded like more work. Aren't you trying to avoid that?"

Ren smiled and replied, "I wanted to rest for more than a night, to not travel after a few days at a place. I don't think I could stop thinking or working for more than a few moments."

"I can understand that," Kyoko agreed as she finished her meal. "Before you get started on your holiday," she stood up and set the dirty dish on top his. "We need to go over our contract," she stated in a professional tone as she took out a piece of wax paper and wrapped his left over meat then proceeded to walk over to an ice box and store it.

"Ah, yes, What did we decide on?" Ren leaned back as Kyoko returned with a piece of yellow paper along with a safety pen with an inkwell. He picked up the pen with a smile and twisted off the cap. He expected her to use a quill and ink nothing as expensive as a safety pen. Kyoko ignored his fascination with the pen and read what she wrote the night before.

"What I have is a room, food and free use of the everything available here for one week. During that week, your stallion will stay within my land to mate with my two mares. So after we make sure my mares accept him, we can sign at the bottom," she told him and stood up to walk outside.

"Wait," Ren stopped her looking at the very tiny contract. "What happened to the stud fee and first pick of the offspring produced? Also, is room and board the only things you are providing for my stay here? You mentioned I could use one of your horses if I required it."

Kyoko frowned and sat back down. "To address your stay, I can be more accommodating. I can draw your baths and wash your clothes, which are in great need, and of course you can use a horse. Hermes was my father's horse and can take you anywhere you wish to go. Though I thought you didn't want to travel. We can negotiate over the stud fee; however, I am taking a risk by allowing a strange man to live with me. I believe that alone should counter any dealings if a foal is produced."

Ren smiled at her, trying to stare her down to see if she would break down, but she held her ground. He leaned in, his arms resting on the table and asked, "What about entertainment?"

Kyoko straightened up and licked her lips remembering that kiss from last night. She blushed slightly and coughed to clear her throat. She was thankful that he didn't seem to remember anything last night just as she suspected and was a little sad knowing her first kiss was by someone who wouldn't remember.

"I can get you some books from town today," she offered, "You can go fishing or hunting if you like."

He was tempted to ask what she was thinking about when she blushed but didn't. No doubt they didn't even touch the ideas that were swimming in his head. "That sounds fine. What happens if your mares don't approve of Rusty?"

Kyoko smiled, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "Rusty?"

"Yeah, his color is like the color of rust. It fits," Ren said a little offended. She giggled softly. "Besides I was 15 when I named him," he amended.

"It's cute. I didn't mean to laugh," Kyoko said still giggling softly.

"I could ask why your horses were named after Greek Gods: Apollo, Perses and Hermes. What are your mare's names: Aphrodite, and Athena?" He teased making her pout.

"Windy, Sandy and Roxy," she defended herself. "Father liked Greek Mythology, and he named the males, while I named the females. I must admit I used the same method you did when naming Sandy. She is the color of sand so..." she let him complete her obvious statement.

"Why is Roxy not in the list to be mated," he asked, hoping to keep her talking.

"Too old, she was my mother's horse. Roxy is the leader of the herd and has helped raise so many of our foals. She is a good role model, strong as a rock," she smiled, "Get it? Roxy..." she laughed at her own joke and then thought of something

"I suppose I continued my mother's tradition of always ending the names with a 'y' for the female horses," she stated as if just noticing the trend. "Well, let me write out the extra details, and then we will introduce Rusty to my herd. I hope they get along well."

Kyoko had extremely elegant handwriting and very neat. He watched her as he nursed his third cup of coffee. She didn't seem to mind him watching her. She didn't seem to mind much of anything. She smiled once done and repeated everything on the contract. If she missed anything, he couldn't remember what it was. She nodded once and distracted him by doing the most sensuous thing. She licked her lips, puckered them and then lightly blew air onto the wet ink. It was silly thing to do since they weren't going to roll it up or anything, plus they weren't going to sign it yet. Still, it looked like a habit of hers, one that he wouldn't mind watching her do again and again.

"Shall we go? We have to isolate Apollo. He's a stud colt, so I don't want to create any aggression to either of them. After that we can let Windy, Sandy and Rusty go on their own and take Hermes and Roxy out for a ride," she explained as she walked out of the front door. Ren was about to follow but forgot his boots. He ran back to the room and slipped them on, and even found his hat on one of the hooks on the wall. _Did I do that or did she? _He asked internally and shook his head.

He quickly made his way outside, slipping his hat on as soon as the sun hit him. It was a clear day and promised to be on the warmer side of comfortable. Kyoko was no where to be seen again, but he walked around the corner to find that the stable doors were open. As he walked over, she came out with a very pale palomino horse with a darker cream colored streak going down his muzzle. His mane was the same dark cream color as well.

"You remember Apollo," she walked the young horse over, and Ren greeted him by rubbing his ears. Kyoko smiled up at Ren enjoying the sight in front of her.

"Where are you going to put him?" Ren asked her as he scratched Apollo's neck.

"I have a corral close to here that I use for training. He won't like me for it, but I can give him some extra grain to keep him happy." Kyoko pointed to the south west towards the main town. They walked Apollo past the house to a fenced in area about half an acre large. Ren thought of the corrals he used back east and thought this was nothing for a horse to scoff at.

"This is plenty large, why would Apollo be angry at you for it?" Ren asked as he closed the fence in.

"Probably because he knows it's where we train, and he doesn't have a lot of room to run in at least not like normal," she explained. Kyoko walked over to the watering troff and frowned. "I need to get water. This will take me a moment. You may wait in the house or play with Apollo. I don't mind," she told him and left to fetch two buckets of water. Ren rather stay outside than wait in the house, so he clicked his tongue and called Apollo over. He looked him over and found he was a little fussy when being handled.

"I'm not going to sing to you like your mistress does," Ren told the horse with a smile after setting his front right hoof down. He looked over and found Kyoko carrying two full buckets of water through the gate. She set them down and closed the gate then bent to pick them back up. He took a single step towards her to help but saw that she really didn't need any help. She quickly walked over to the troff, lifted and emptied them both easily.

_She felt like she had to do everything herself without asking for help from anyone. _The barkeeper's words came back to haunt him. Ren frowned and left Apollo to his own devices.

Kyoko stood on the stool and pumped water into the second bucket from the well. Once full she stepped down and bent over to pick them up only to find one of them missing. She looked up and found Ren holding one of the buckets.

"Thank you, but you don't need to help. I can manage," she said and stretched her arm out to take his bucket.

"I know you don't need it, but please let me help," he pleaded and then smiled brightly as she nodded.

"Take these two, and I'll fill up these over here," she stated and pulled two empty buckets sitting next to the pump that hadn't been used in a while. She poured a little water in them to clean them out while Ren took the two full ones back to the troff. He returned with empty buckets about half way through filling the second. Kyoko hid a smile behind her actions, never seeing someone so excited about doing chores.

About ten minutes later, Apollo was locked up with fresh water and hay, again provided with the added assistance of one Ren Tsuruga. Now they were going to release the mares and Rusty to get to know each other better in the open.

"When should I let Rusty go?" Ren yelled over to her. Every breeder had different methods of introducing a horse to their herd, and Ren's seen them all. His family bought horses for sportsmanship rather than breeding, but they did have stallions for this exact reason. Granted, Ren wasn't expecting to use Rusty for that side of him during the trip.

"Go ahead and let him go now. My mares are horsing, so he should be drawn to them rather quickly," she told him and then disappeared into her stable. Horsing meant they were in heat, and Ren did as he was told.

"Alright, Rusty. You go play real nice with her mares, so I can play nice with their mistress for the week," he told him, and Rusty nudged Ren's shoulder roughly. He pouted.

"What? I'm not going to do anything," Ren retorted, "She's intriguing. That's all," he said to Rusty, and the horse flicked his ear in response. "She wouldn't want to be with me anyway," he whispered somberly as he rubbed Rusty's ear. Rusty dipped his head down and pushed Ren's chest bringing him out of his dark state.

"Yeah, okay. Get out of here," Ren yelled out and pushed Rusty out to the open field. Kyoko had already released one of her mares, probably Sandy, a gold champagne colored horse with light colored hair. Then she was talking and petting a light brown horse with a dark brown hair, Windy. Both mares joined together quickly and ran off to the larger portion of the land while Rusty ran off a short distance and started rolling around in the dirt. Kyoko had a huge smile watching Rusty's coat become a light brown instead of his rich red. Ren walked up to her wanting that smile directed at him instead.

"Are you sure your mares are in heat?" He leaned down and whispered.

Kyoko looked up at him and then back at Rusty. He was finishing his roll and started standing back up. He shook off the loose dirt and than ran off to chance after the two mares.

"Yup," she replied to Ren and started walking back into the barn. He followed her as she opened the gate to another brown horse.

"This is Hermes, my father's gelding. I'll get him saddled up for you and once I finish Roxy, we can go," Kyoko told him and grabbed a small stool, setting it beside Hermes. It looked a lot like the one she was using to pump the water well. She walked over and removed a blanket from a neat pile of them then came back, got on the stool and threw it over Hermes' back, straightening out an edge or two. She hopped off to get the saddle, and Ren stopped her.

"Where's the saddle?" He asked, clearing implying his intentions. Kyoko opened her mouth to argue but instead just humphed and pointed to the saddle. He smiled at her and removed his arm from her way. "Thank you," he said and turned to get the saddle. She picked up her stool and trampled through the hay over to Roxy and started to set herself up.

She noticed how quickly he was saddling up Hermes and picked up her own pace. Ren also noticed her increased paced and doubled his efforts. Soon it became a race between the two of them to see who could ready their horse the fastest, bridle and all. They both left the stables with a big smile on their face as both finished at the same time.

"Hold on to Roxy for a moment, I'm going to get some flasks of water for the trip. Maybe we can have lunch at the creek if we can catch a rabbit," she told him before giving the reins to him. Ren shook his head at her comments a little confused. She returned quickly, handing him a large heavy flask and slipping hers in a belt on her saddle. She also brought with her a thin rope and a few old vegetables that weren't suitable for eating anymore, slipping those to a saddle bag in the back.

"How long are we going to be out?" He asked her, baffled by her preparations.

"Well, you want to see everything right? So a half a day if we eat out there. I thought we would take it slow. Is that alright?" She asked with concern.

"No, it's fine. Are we going to go outside your land?"

"No, unless you want to," she offered. "We can refill our water at the creek. Though I would want to bring some sleeping rolls if we do."

Ren blinked at her, his mind not comprehending her words just yet. "No, staying within your land is fine for today," he replied. She nodded and then reached up to take hold of the saddle to mount up. Ren instinctually reached out and took a hold of her waist to help her up when she froze.

"What are you doing?" She asked with her foot on the stirrup.

"I thought... Sorry," he sighed and took a step back with his hands up in the air. He wasn't use to dealing with a woman like her. All the women he grew up with, was surrounded by, would just stand there and wait for him to lift them up. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. Instead he turned around and mounted Hermes just as she mounted Roxy. As should be expected, she had no trouble doing so, though she was not properly dressed to ride straddling the horse. Her skirts hiked up to reveal her boot and a little of her drawers. Though one interesting note was the knife that was strapped to her boot.

"Are you ready, Mr. Tsuruga?" she asked drawing his attentions from her leg.

"What's the knife for?" He gestured to it, and she looked down at it.

Kyoko looked at his hip and pointed to his revolver. "The same reason you have that, Mr. Tsuruga. Plus, I would like to see you skin a rabbit with your gun," she replied and then tapped Roxy forward. Ren coughed in shame. Of course she would have protection. She was inviting a strange man to her home in the middle of nowhere, and not to forget, everything is open game when it came to her. He was starting to forget which way was up the more time he spent with her. Ren reached her and matched her mare's speed.

"How big is your land, Miss Mogami?" He finally asked the question that was plaguing him earlier.

"A little over 800 acres," she said frankly, not really thinking about what she told him. Ren stopped breathing and, if it wasn't for Hermes, he would have fallen behind.

"How did you acquire so much land?"

Kyoko shrugged and relayed the story her father told her, "It's probably easier here than in the East. My grandfather and father were part of the original settlers of the town. The band wagon camped when they found water and then the town was founded when they realized it was an underground reservoir. When they divided up the land, my grandfather asked for this large amount far out of the town. Too far for any of them to want to stream water to so they agreed. What they didn't know was the creek and pond that grandfather had found. It was already too late but no one seemed to mind. The find didn't hinder the town any and anyone was free to come there as long as they asked permission."

Kyoko finished and stayed quiet wondering if he had another question. When he didn't say anything, she worried if perhaps the trip was too much for him all in one day.

"Would you perhaps want to do half the property today, and the other tomorrow? In all honestly, there isn't much to see. The best part is the northeast corner, but heading further east is just bare land for the horses to run around in," she described.

"No, I would like to see everything," he said softly as he stared off to the distance. Since the corral was southeast, they continued walking the south side and turned north walking along the furthest eastern border.

Kyoko pointed out things of interest or areas that he needed to be aware of just to be safe. Ren aptly listened as she told him stories of her childhood growing up on the land. She was a wonderful story teller. Kyoko used her whole body trying to tell him of a time she had to chase down a family of ferrets that had decided to take things from their home. Her voice cracked a little when she mentioned her father, telling him about the things he taught her, how to hunt and cook in the wild, to fish, and what plants were good and bad. She had him laughing and smiling with her words, Ren felt like he could talk to her all day. It wasn't until she mentioned it that he noticed the sound of water near by.

"We're here," Kyoko told him with a smile. "It's beautiful, isn't it," she said with a proud happy sigh. He took in the area and couldn't agree more. The town had a lot of open spaces thought the settlers could have been the ones to create them, since a large portion of where they were had a lot of trees. It was too thin to be considered a forest but there were plenty of trees to be had. It was probably why the town had so many buildings was because of the available lumber in this area. Either way, the little corner of heaven that belonged to Kyoko had trees for as far as the eye could see and a small creek flowing out of it, feeding into a small pond in her property. Everything was lush and green though he could see the evidence of outside influences. The ground was torn up by the horses, and Kyoko actually has a small campsite setup a few yards away from the water.

"This has been here since before I can remember," Kyoko said as they directed their horses to the site. "I'm sure grandfather and father made it once they settled down. If this was closer to town, I'm sure the house would have been up here instead of the other corner."

They hopped off, tied their horses to a post made there and walked over to the camp. Kyoko squatted down to clean it up as Ren walked away a little looking into the trees. Since it was spring, the place was alive with critters. He couldn't see them quick enough to identify them, but leaves shuffled and there was movement in the corners of his eyes. He stepped forward entranced by the area, ducking under some branches and treading carefully through the brush he walked through just looking around. She was right about land being more difficult to come by in the East. It was so overly populated that the hunting grounds were days away from his city, and they were not this clean nor was the sport this plentiful.

"Do you see a good spot?" Kyoko whispered suddenly making him jump lightly. She noticed and giggled softly, "Serves you right for always sneaking up on me." Ren glared at her half heartedly as she stepped up in front of him with the rope and vegetables in her hand.

"How'd you even do that with all this rubble?" He asked as he broke another branch making a loud crack with his foot.

She turned back to him with a big smile and answered, "Little feet." Kyoko picked up her foot and stepped in-between everything that would make a sound.

Ren rolled his eyes and grumbled, "I feel like an oaf." He tried to tip toe through but failed as his boots were simply not made to do such an act.

"You're about as big as one too," Kyoko teased him as she searched for tracks of her prey. She was so busy looking that she didn't notice him so close.

"At least I'm not a fairy," he retorted and then lifted her up in his arms. She yelled out in surprise and then laughed as he lightly tossed her into the air. "So tiny, you don't weigh a thing," he jeered.

"Stop!" she cried with a big smile on her lips. "Put me down!" she tried to sound angry but couldn't. If she were honest with herself, she liked him. He was a good listener, smart, kind and childlike. Not childlike in looks, goodness no, but he's playful and silly at times, at least she thought so. He put her down the moment she said too. Kyoko swatted his arm lightly as if to punish him for picking her up but the smile on both of their faces never wilted. She returned to trying to find tracks when she suddenly thought of something.

"What's a fairy?" She turned and asked him.

"A fairy is a tiny human-like creature with wings that have magical powers. They are usually very playful creatures living in nature. They take on characteristics of where they live. For example if they are tree fairies they would have dark green or brown wings, if they are water fairies they would be blue and white, snow is pure white. You get the idea. They had magic like making a flower bloom or talking to the animals," Ren explained and the more he did so the more her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"How small are they?" She asked inquisitively. He put his hands together, distancing them to about 5 or so inches apart. She laughed and a light blush decorated her cheeks.

"Why are you blushing?" He asked wondering what she was thinking about.

She turned away from him using her task to trap a rabbit to hide her ever reddening face and shrugged. "They sound really cute and fun. For you to call me one is...," she paused from embarrassment then finished, "It's sweet." Before he could respond, she suddenly stopped and gestured for him to do so as well.

"I see something. Wait here while I set it up," she whispered, "no doubt they would see you coming and run screaming." He growled at her again feeling like an abomination. She glanced at him and gave him the most dazzling smile along with a bell like laugh before sneaking off between the trees.

"Definitely a fairy," he mumbled and tried to quietly make his way back.


	10. Signature

**A/N: Let's see. I do not own Skip Beat! Homer's tails, any of the Fairy Tales used. If I got a detail wrong, I apologize, please send me a PM, so I may fix it. **

Chapter 10

"Don't go too far," she called out to him with a soft voice. "I want to be able to hear the struggle so we can get it as soon as possible." Ren stopped not making it but a few yards away before she came frolicking back. They sat down after clearing away a small area. Ren leaned up against a tree while she sat a little bit away hugging her knees.

"Where did you learn about fairies?" She asked curious about more.

"Stories, books that my father picked up as he traveled for business," Ren said without really thinking about his secrets. "It started when I was a kid. Both my parents were rather busy, my father had the company, and my mother had social customs to uphold. Most of my time was spent in school, learning the basics and then eventually business. I also had to learn social etiquette but those few times when we were all together, we read books together. Father brought home so many different stories with villains and heroes, kings and queens, fairies and elves, love and war. I remember him bringing a large book of short stories called Fairy Tales. Anything that had multiple short stories were best since we didn't get too many long spans of time together."

Kyoko watched him as he described his childhood to her. She couldn't help but feel a little sad for him talking about how little time he got to spend with his parents, but the look on his face said that he didn't mind. He was smiling and remembering the happier times of his life and that's what was important. She rested her chin on her crossed arms which rested on her knees, listening to his past.

"The Fairy Tales were your favorite, then?" She asked hoping he would talk more.

Ren glanced at her and felt his heart skip. He licked his lips and had to think about it. _Was she looking that cute the whole time I was talking? _He asked himself and was upset that he missed out on it for this long. He twisted towards her, leaning his shoulder against the tree rather his back so he could look at her as he spoke.

"I can't say they were my favorite. It was more like they stuck in my mind because of how different they were. Do you want me to tell you the ones I remember?" He offered and saw her face light up. The first one he remembered was The Emperor's New Clothes.

He tried to be as entertaining as she was, using his hands, voice and expressions to get her to laugh and smile. She was so enraptured with it that his animations became more elaborate. Kyoko was riled up at the extent of two scoundrels cheating the king, blushed when he walked around naked and even laughed as the boy, a child was the one brave enough to challenge the Emperor and his stupid vanity.

"It serves him right being so dim-witted as to believe those men. Then to be so vain as to only worry about his clothing. What about the kingdom? Were his people protected and safe with food and what about the economy?" He laughed as she ranted about how irresponsible the Emperor was. The next story he remembered was the Little Mermaid, which she did not like.

"That's terribly sad," she cried, "To leave her whole life behind for someone she loved, no voice and in horrible pain every day, only to have him marry someone else. That's heart wrenching. Then she kills herself. Tell me a happier one," she asked with a sad little pout. By this time, they had both shifted in their seating so many times that Kyoko was laying down on her side facing him while he, as the storyteller, was sitting cross legged facing her. She would still exclaim and jump up from her position and would occasionally lay down completely tempting him to join her; however, he held still, trying to remember more stories.

He told her the story of the Ugly Duckling, who was teased and tormented by so many because he was different. She was very quiet in this story and when he told her of how he found his own flock, that he had grown up to be a beautiful graceful swan a small smile decorated her lips but she remained in a contemplatively silence. Ren didn't like that reaction and quickly went into another story. He remembered the story of the Princess and the Pea.

"There was once a prince who wanted to marry real princess, so he went out to look for one, but no matter how many princesses he met, none of them were real enough for him," Ren told her. The moment he mentioned the word prince and princess she seemed to brighten up which made him smile. This was the reactions he wanted, so he continued.

"After many trips far and wide, he finally gave up, disappointed that he never found his real princess. Until one stormy rainy night, a woman drenched from head to toe came in asking for shelter claiming that she was a princess. The royal family took her in but didn't really believe her to be a real princess, not after all the failures they found in the past, so the..."

"Wait," Kyoko suddenly stopped him with her small hand on his knee. His voice escaped him the moment she touched him and his whole body felt nothing but that small bit of contact.

"Do you hear that?" She asked him but he couldn't hear past his racing heart. "I think we got a catch," Kyoko said excitedly and pulled herself up. "I'll go check, don't forget where you are in the story," she reminded him and walked towards the trap.

_Right, the story. _Ren sighed as his head swam. He let himself fall to the ground, and then laughed at himself. He pulled off his hat and placed it over his face.

"What am I doing?" He spoke into his hat and closed his eyes, where the first thing that appeared was her face and then the tear stricken face of a woman holding her dead husband.

_"This is all your fault! You killed him!" _

Ren jerked up in a sudden cold sweat, trembling lightly, his hat falling onto his lap. He heard the leaves shuffle and looked towards the source. Kyoko wasn't being careful anymore, thrashing through the leaves and branches without much care, holding on to a tied up dead rabbit.

"We got one!" she said happily and held it up. He slipped his hat back on and stood up as she approached. The moment she stood next to him and looked up she frowned worriedly.

"Are you okay? You look..." she cocked her head analyzing him, "pale." Ren licked his lips nervously trying to figure out what to say to her when she unexpectedly reached up and touched his face. She moved her hand up his face to his forehead pushing his hat off slightly then ran down again to wrap around the side of his neck. He could feel the small calluses on her hands, but they were nothing to his rough skin. Her warm small hand felt like the softest of furs. She twisted her face in confusion as her hand slipped way from him.

"Now you're looking red and feeling fairly warm. You should splash some water on your face and neck to make sure you don't get sick when we get to camp," she advised him. Since Kyoko came up with an excuse for him, he went with it. He nodded, still not trusting his voice and followed her back to camp.

As Kyoko started cleaning up the rabbit, Ren walked towards the stream and splashed cool water on his face. He took off his hat and splashed water around his neck and even over his head. He took a deep breath and let it out trying to calm his heart, his nerves and the shakes of his past.

"Better?" She asked him and once again found her close enough to reach out and touch without him knowing it. She held the bloody skinned rabbit in her hand and proceeded to kneel down beside him and clean it off in the creek.

"Yes," Ren said softly as he watched her working intently on her task.

Kyoko glanced up at him for a brief moment and then turned back with a light blush on her cheeks. He was smiling softly at her, his eyes holding that soft adoring look he had the night he kissed her; however this time, his eyes weren't clouded. They were as clear as the skies above meaning that little look made her knees feel weak. When the rabbit was clean, she tried to stand only to stumble at her first step. Ren was standing up with a hand at the small of her back and the other at her shoulder before she could blink.

"Are you okay?" he asked genuinely concerned. She flushed from embarrassment and quickly nodded. Kyoko stepped away from his touched. "Can I help with anything?" He offered.

"Could you start the fire?" She asked, and he didn't answer, simply went straight to work. Kyoko worked a skewer into the skinned and gutted rabbit while Ren started and fed a fire like a professional. She smiled impressed but then remembered that he probably had to camp out in the middle of nowhere if he travelled for the past few months. _The man has to have a lot of skills, _she said to herself. She set the rabbit over the fire once he had it going. While she adjusted the meat over the flame, Ren took it upon himself to wash the skin in the river, again making her smile.

Once everything was done, they settled slightly away from the fire watching it for a moment before Kyoko twisted towards him. "So a princess came to the castle in the middle of the storm asking for shelter," Kyoko said eagerly, hoping to get the rest of the story. Ren laughed soundlessly and recapped the story in his head to the point she was at.

"Ah, yes okay, so the Queen came up with a test. She ran to the bedroom the princess would sleep in, took off all the sheets and placed a pea in the center of the mattresses and then proceeded to pile twenty mattresses and twenty feather quilts on top of that pea."

Kyoko gave him an odd look at that, not quite understanding the point of the pea, and he chuckled. A child would have asked why the queen did such a thing, but Kyoko stayed quiet and radiated with her aura for him to continue, eager for the story to unfold by itself.

"The next morning, they asked her how she slept to which she answered, 'Horribly! I couldn't get a wink of sleep the whole night. Goodness knows what was in that bed, but I'm completely black and blue!' And since only a real princess could have skin that sensitive, she was married to the prince." Kyoko had laughed at his attempt at woman's voice, her eyes sparkling like the stars, and at that moment, Ren wished he could see that in her eyes forever.

"That was utterly silly but cute. Do you have one about fairies?" She asked hopefully. He had to think about that one for a moment and did finally remember one, Thumbelina. This one was as long as the Little Mermaid which made her happy. From the moment he told her that a tiny person was born from a flower, she was enchanted with it. He had to explain that she wasn't a fairy just extremely small. She pouted a little but didn't argue with the story. As he told her of Thumbelina's kidnappings and trails to escape unwanted marriages to ugly creatures, she had to turn or check the meat; however, each time she got up, not letting him stop the story, she sat just a touch closer to him. If she did this unconsciously he didn't know, but Ren was very aware of it.

"The little swallow found Thumbelina in the mole's hole and quickly came down to offer her a chance to escape. He offered her a place filled with sunshine and flowers and where no snow fell to return the favor of saving his life. She quickly agreed and hoped on the swallow's back," he said moving his hand up into the sky mimicking a flying motion. Ren was now the one resting on his left side facing, almost circling Kyoko with his body. She was sitting up, with her legs swept to the left side with her leaning against her right arm for support, facing him as well. He was very aware of how close he was to her. All he had to do was push himself up and her lips would be his; however, he didn't want to scare her away, so he continued to simply enjoy her close company.

"It took a while but they finally reached a beautiful blue lake surrounded by everything the little swallow promised. The swallow took her to his little home but told her that she couldn't live there. 'It would not be comfortable. Choose for yourself a lovely flower, and there is where you shall live,' the swallow said. He flew around for her until she found a lovely large white flower, and he swooped down to land near it. As they got closer to the flower, they saw a tiny little man, with white wings that sparkled like crystal and a little gold crown on his head."

Ren's smile widened as Kyoko sat up, once again edging closer towards his face. She had a huge grin on her face as he finally got to the fairy prince.

"The Fairy Prince was frightened at first seeing the very large sparrow coming towards him but then saw the most beautiful woman on the bird's wings. The sparrow landed and extended a wing to the petals allowing Thumbelina to walk onto the flower. The moment the Fairy Prince and Thumbelina saw each other, they loved each other. The Prince asked for her hand in marriage, and she quickly agreed. As soon as she did all the flowers near them bloomed and from each came a Fairy Lord or Lady to meet the Prince's bride. Each came with a gift, the best of all being a pair of beautiful white sparking wings just for her."

As Ren finished the story, Kyoko started crying but with huge smile on her face. He laughed softly and raised his hand to catch a tear and told her, "This was a happy story."

She laughed brightly and nodded. "Yes, I love this story. It's by far my favorite one," she declared and took his hand in both of hers. She tilted her head to the side and cradled his hand against her cheek. Kyoko squeezed his hand tightly in hers as if she was trying to hug him, thanking him for the wonderful story. His hand was held with his palm towards her face, so he caressed her cheek with his thumb trying to satisfy that craving of touch within him.

Kyoko took a deep breath and sighed as she returned Ren's hand back to him. She felt his fingers linger on hers lightly, but accredited it her own desires rather than his. She looked over at the small fire and knew that the food was done. The last time she checked it, it was almost finished. She stood up, her skirt lightly brushing him as she walked away, and checked the meat.

"It's done," she announced and returned with the food. She stabbed the stick into the ground between them and sat opposite Ren, much father than she has been sitting for most of the day. Ren found himself wanting to close that distance, but stopped himself short. He sat up adjacent to her rather than beside her, or behind her in his arms like he wanted. Kyoko ripped up a piece of meat and started chewing, and the he did the same.

"My father read books too," Kyoko started, still wanting to talk but also wanting to give him a break from all his storytelling. "I told you he liked Greek Mythology. His favorite story was Illiad by Homer, though my favorite was the Odyssey. Do you know those?"

"Yes, it was about the Trojan War and Odysseus return home," Ren said as he tried to remember more about the story. "What's wrong with Illiad?" Ren asked, not remembering everything about the two stories.

"Father liked all the war in Illiad. I'm not really interested in war or all the strategies that he enjoyed from the story. He loved Achilles and felt that he was right not fighting after they took Breisis. To be honest, I was too. King Agamemnon kidnaps his girl as if she were a thing. It's awful," Kyoko said outraged making Ren laugh softly.

"I can understand why Achilles doesn't do anything against the King. He is the King, but a terrible one. And then to top it off, the way the whole war got started was stupid. Someone didn't get invited to a wedding, pit three of the vainest goddess against each other and to win Aphrodite steals the Queen of Sparta, who was happy until Aphrodite bewitched her and bam," Kyoko clapped her hands together, "a war all for vanity." She finished her reason shaking her head as she ate. Ren wasn't eating as much, but pretended to as he listened to her talk.

"Okay, so why did you like the Odyssey?" Ren prompted.

Kyoko smiled. "Oh well, I thought it was rather sweet. A soldier trying to come home to the woman he loves. I felt so bad for him," Kyoko sighed with a little pout. "Nothing was his fault, just trying to survive the mean Cyclops, Polyphemus, dealing with Circe, the sirens, Calypso, and then finally comes home after 20 years where Penelope was still waiting. For her to believe Odysseus still alive after that long and say no to so many suitors is wonderful. She loved him, and it was him or nothing. I couldn't imagine how happy she was when he finally arrived," she said dreamingly.

"The bow thing was fun, granted killing everyone after it was extreme," she added with a grimace. "He already won the contest, why did he have to kill all the suitors and maids?"

Ren shrugged sort of understanding. "It was them that kept trying to tell her that he was dead and to move on. They wanted to marry her so badly, perhaps he thought that they wouldn't stop trying even after he won. He was just being overly cautious." Kyoko thought that through and hesitantly agreed.

"Okay, I can see that. Now why the maids?" Kyoko asked.

"I would say that was about honor," Ren said and his gaze turned to her hand. "Say you were my Penelope," he said and picked up her left hand, "and I, your Odysseus." Kyoko blushed at the contact but didn't pull away or stop him. She nodded allowing him to continue, "You hear word that the war is over, and you know in your heart that I am still alive, so you wait. Every wife would wait a year, maybe two, hoping to see their husband again. After that hope starts to dwindle in everyone but you. You still believe I'm alive, right?" He asked with a small smile, his hand playing with hers, caressing her fingers or tickling her palm. Kyoko nodded very slowly, her heart drumming in her heart at his explanation.

"Five years past and everyone but you believes me to be dead. They accept a decent time of mourning but then a single person comes up and starts saying, "He's dead, It's time to remarry." You refuse, and they take it that you are still mourning. But as more time passes, more people come to you telling you to move on, remarry and men come up asking for your attentions, trying to charm you, and steal the hand," Ren pulls her hand closer to him, towards his lips as his eyes captured hers. "and the very heart that belongs only to me." He very softly pressed a small kiss on her knuckles. Kyoko blush multiplies ten fold as she pulls her hand away from his. Ren doesn't try to keep her, just smiles and gets to his point.

"How do you think I would feel finding out that these men were sleeping with other women the same time they were trying to win your love?" Ren asked, and Kyoko turned to him shocked that she never thought of it in that way. "The men only wanted to marry Penelope for status or money, something that wasn't love. Yet, I bet they claimed to love her. How would you feel after finding out that the maid that served you, was probably friends with, was sleeping with a man who allegedly said they loved you behind your back?"

Kyoko thought about it and finally nodded, not having any way to argue his logic. "Even if I was betrayed by them, I don't think I could kill them," Kyoko confessed.

"Well, then you are much kinder than she was," Ren replied making her smile.

Her smile turned into an accusatory smirk as she asked, "Does this mean you are as cruel as Odysseus?" Ren thought about it and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so," he admitted then asked, "Does that mean you couldn't love me?"

Kyoko blushed at his wording and tried to answer it another way. "If I took into consideration the circumstances of the situation you described, I rather those men died than lose the one I waited 20 years for," she replied, and Ren nodded, not totally happy with her answer but accepted it.

_So she wouldn't love me, _he thought solemnly as he stared at the ground.

Kyoko sighed and pulled out her pocket watch. It was mid-afternoon and if she was going to get everything done today, she needed to head back. Plus, she wanted to check up on her horses.

"Are you done eating?" She asked, bringing Ren out of his daze.

"Ah, yes, thank you," he replied, having finished eating after three bites. Luckily, she didn't notice or didn't care to. She nodded and stood up, yanking the skewer out of the ground. She walked away a little bit and tossed the remains into the woods.

"We should start heading back. I'd like to look around for Rusty and see how he faired and we can confirm everything back home. Agreed?" She asked, and he nodded as he stood up.

On the way back, Kyoko thought Ren seemed a little down. While he was smiling and talking to her as he did all morning, his overall enthusiasm wasn't the same. She contributed it to fear or worry about finding Rusty not doing well with her mares. _Perhaps he wanted this holiday more than he realized,_ she thought to herself. Well, if that were the case, she could offer him a few days of relaxation just out of friendship. She would accept help or money if he felt obligated but wouldn't ask for very much. She glanced at him, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts and smiled happy at her decision, but first thing first, was to find out if Rusty's teasing was working on her mares.

It was, and it seemed that Rusty wasn't waiting long to take advantage of his conquests. They both turned their horses away, heading towards the house, giving Rusty and the mares their privacy.

"Looks like Rusty is as charming as his owner," Kyoko said without thinking and turned a bright red. Ren couldn't believe his ears, nor could he help the huge grin on his face that came from her comment. He leaned over his horse a little trying to look at her face and she turned away unable to look at him.

"You think I'm charming?" he asked, and she shook her head still looking away. He laughed and maneuvered Hermes to walk in front of Roxy so he could try and see her face. "I could have swore you said I was charming," he said again and caught her gaze for a split second. In that split second, her face turned darker, and she shut her eyes shut.

"I said nothing of the sort. I said Rusty was charming," she yelled out confidently as she spun Roxy around, forcing her to go around Ren and Hermes and proceeded to speed up to try and escape. Ren of course, caught up and found her with her chin up proudly but her eyes closed.

"Yes, you did," Ren agreed, and she snuck a quick peek at him. He smirked at her, and she quickly closed her eyes again. "But you said he was as charming as his Owner," he repeated and her blush came back, "Which I might remind you is me," he clarified. She didn't say anything, and he knew her honesty would keep her silent. Kyoko would rather not speak than lie. He let it drop satisfied by her silence and started whistling happily as they casually made their way back to the house.

Once they arrived, Ren took care of his horse just as he did when they saddled up, while Kyoko took care of hers. They didn't race but both were eager to finish, though for different reasons. He wanted to go inside, spend time with her while she wanted to sink herself into her duties. She hoped that once he signed the contract that he would start doing his own thing. As soon as they stepped into the house, Kyoko went straight to business.

"As per our agreement, Mr. Tsuruga, your stallion was accepted, and I will provide my part of the bargain. Room and board for a week including a $20 stud fee," she stated and picked up her pen to put in the stud fee amount.

"$50," Ren countered and she gasped.

"That is too much! For room and board and $50 on top of that. $20 is above the normal price. I'll give you $30. That is extremely generous," she argued.

"I'll tell you what," Ren started. He sat down on the table in front of her, his face directly in front of hers now. "I'll go down to a $5 stud fee if you promise to keep me company for the duration of my stay," he said softy. She looked at him like he was insane and then frown, and he saw her starting to grow angry.

"What does that mean exactly?" Kyoko asked hostilely.

Ren flashed her a confused look and then he snorted. "No," he shook his head. "Not like that," he assured her and stood up, "I meant like today. I've been on my own for a long time, and I enjoy talking to you. I want your company."

Kyoko felt like a fool. _Of course, he wouldn't think of me like that, _she reprimanded herself. _Now he probably thinks I'm in love with him, telling him he was charming and now thinking of bedding him. _She could feel her face enflamed with her shame and embarrassment.

"My apologies, Mr. Tsuruga, I..." Kyoko licked her lips nervously, "it seems I assumed the worst from you. Yes, of course, I..." she forced herself to look at him and hated that she couldn't help the heat rushing to her cheeks, "I, too, enjoy speaking with you, but I do have to warn you. I have my duties to the ranch that I will take as my priority."

"Of course," Ren agreed. "Then we are agreed?"

"As much as I would like to say yes, I can't," Kyoko said making Ren frown until she continued, "I have to at least give you the standard stud fee. It wouldn't feel right otherwise."

They finally both agreed to the terms, and Kyoko bent down to sign the document first. She had to admit that the moment the time came to sign the one thing she was so adamant about, she didn't want to anymore. She felt as if by forcing him to sign this agreement, she didn't trust him to keep his word and everything he has done to this day has proved how very trustworthy he is. He never touched her improperly, except that single kiss, though she really didn't mind, and even allowed his stallion to mate her mares before receiving any fee or his end of the bargain. He trusted her to keep her word and now she was forcing him to prove his by signing.

She signed it, though hesitated handing him the pen. He's already fulfilled his part of the deal, her mares, at least one of them, was mated and there was no promise of a foal since he would be long gone before they find out. The signature would only provide an obligation for her to fulfill her side of the agreement. Since she didn't know what to do, she simply set the pen down. If he didn't sign it, she wouldn't force him.

Ren was raging a battle within himself just as she did. Ren Tsuruga was not his real name, so which name did he sign? If he used his fake name, the document would become useless, granted why did it matter since it would become void after a week from today. He had no intention of leaving a minute earlier than agreed, though he had no guarantee that he could get himself to leave if the rest of the week was like today or better. Then there was a question as to how she would react. Ren has yet to correctly predict any of her reactions, so he wouldn't want to assume this one. Even though his mind fought him, constantly throwing reason and logic at him to not tell her the truth, something else inside of him wanted to tell her.

That small something won.

"Excuse me for a moment," he said as soon as her hand left the pen. She looked up at him and nodded though he was already walking away towards his room. Kyoko took a shaky breath and sat down letting it out slowly. Ren quickly came back with a small square of yellowish paper and sat down next to her.

"I would like to show you something before I sign this," Ren stated seriously. Kyoko didn't understand what was happening or why he was suddenly so serious, but she nodded.

"This is a picture of my family at the opening of our most recent station. I'm sorry I lied to you, but I can only hope that once you see this, that you'll understand why I did it," he told her and then reluctantly set the picture down. As soon as his hand dropped the picture, he took the pen and contract and signed.

Kyoko frowned, not understanding a thing he said. She tentatively reached out for the photo almost afraid of looking at it. She picked it up, but didn't look at it yet instead looked at him as he finished signing his name. Ren gently put the pen down and stared at his name. He turned towards her and gave her a sad little smirk making her even more confused.

_Why does he look so sad?_

She leaned over and looked at the name he wrote. Kuon Hizuri

Kyoko blinked and reread the name. She knew that name. Where did she know that name? Finally, she looked at the picture and instantly found him in it. He was standing next to a handsome blonde man with a beautiful blonde woman in front of them. They were smiling happily in front of a railroad station with a sign over their heads that said, Hizuri Rails. She looked at the picture and then looked at his name and then looked at the picture again.

_Does that make Shotaro right? _Kyoko stared at the picture. _No, horses will always be needed. _She tried to convince herself but frowned a little worried. Finally, she set the picture down and looked at him.

"Who is Ren Tsuruga?" She asked.

"I am. Do you know who I am?" He asked hoping that he wouldn't need to explain why he has two names.

She nodded. "You are the son to probably one of the richest men in America," she replied and then smiled and shortly after laughed. "They would kill me if they knew you were here," she said softly mostly to herself.

"Who would?" He asked puzzled.

"Mimori and Erika. Chiori told me how much they were bothering you. She overheard them talking about you too, saying how you were smitten with Erika, and that it was only a matter of time till you proposed." She looked at him and laughed at the look of pure revulsion on his face.

Kyoko nodded. "I thought as much. I didn't think anything of it since I didn't know you. Perhaps you did like her, but as soon as I spoke to you, I thought there was no way you would be so foolish," she professed and then laughed. "Or maybe you heard about her reputation and simply wanted to take advantage of that while you were here. Given your fake name, you could get away with it."

"You don't think very highly of me. Do you, Miss Mogami," he said a little upset.

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I really don't think you are like that. It's just difficult when my ex-fiancé had such promiscuous activates. I tend to assume that most handsome men are the same."

"I would like to be flattered, but I really can't help but be hurt at that statement," Ren said.

Kyoko laughed. "Again I apologize. You really have done nothing to deserve being associated with my ex."

"Then as a way to make amends, do me a favor," Ren said causing her to look up at him waiting for his offer. He took her left hand again and placed it between of his as he spoke, "Never ever refer to him as your anything for the rest of your life, for he is not worthy of your thoughts let alone being associated to you so intimately - past, present or future."

Kyoko lightly flushed. Her lips spreading into a soft timid smile, and she chuckled softly. "You are definitely charming, Mr. Hizuri."


	11. Bath

Chapter 11

After his revelation, Kyoko picked up the contract, once again blowing on it lightly and slipped it into her father's desk drawer. She kept all of her ranch related documents in the same place, and this was no exception; though she did hide it between some papers more for his sake than hers. Her next task was to start boiling water for his bath and preparing the meat she bought yesterday to be smoked over night.

As she set a pot of water into the fire, she asked, "So what do I call you? Mr. Tsuruga or Mr. Hizuri?"

"How about Kuon. I would very much like that," Kuon said with a soft smile. Kyoko didn't think that was an option, considering who he was, but he seemed to want a friend more than a business relationship, so she would comply.

"Very well, though I must insist that you drop that Miss Mogami nonsense. No one, not even clients calls me that name. It felt very odd constantly being called that," she informed him.

"Kyoko," he said softly. Kyoko's breath caught in her throat when he said her name. She was expecting Miss Kyoko not simply her name and never has she heard her name said like that, in such a lovely deep whisper. She swallowed a lump in her throat and realized her heart was stampeding within her chest making her shake lightly. She picked up the large slab of meat and slammed it over trying to force herself to concentrate more on her task than the man in front of her.

Kuon was forced to sit and behave while she did everything. While it made sense, telling him that there only there was only one pot of water to fill the tub, and he didn't know how to cook, so how could he possibly help, he didn't have to like it. He found ways around her order though. She had her hands busy with the buffalo meat, grinding pepper and other seasonings into a mortar and pestle and then rubbing the concoction all over the it thoroughly, while he sat at the other end of the table looking through his notes. Since he was obviously more free, the moment the water started to boil, he got up and carted it to the bath under her direct glare.

"You know if you don't let the water boil completely, your bath is going to be tepid by the time it's filled," she told him after Kuon returned with the fifth pot of water to be boiled.

"That sounds perfect actually, it's too hot outside to take a hot bath, but I don't want a frigid one either," he told her as he took his place at the table again, on purposely avoiding her gaze to hide his smirk. He knew his bath would be on the cooler side but was wiling to live with the consequences as long as he got to help her out with the task.

She looked at him funny, her hands stilling over the meat. "What's the point of taking a bath if you aren't going to soak in a hot one?" Anytime she took a bath, which wasn't very often, it was always steaming. It felt so good, melting in the hot water. She would just sit in there until it turned cold.

"I want to be able to clean everything all at once, without having to jump into a freezing cold lake or stream," he stated matter-of-factly and then added, "besides it's not necessary, it warm outside and will be just fine."

Kyoko toss more of the pepper rub on the meat and pressed it in. She watched him sort through some of his paperwork, make little notes here and scratch things out there. He really did seem fine with the idea of a room temperature bath. She wasn't too thrilled though. She was planning on using the water to wash herself, so that meant it would be cold when she used it. She was tempted to ask if she could bath first but refrained. He's the guest, and by that right, should get the bath first.

She dropped the argument and started to finish up her project. She wrapped a thin wire around the meat in four different locations and created a hook at the end of each line. Heaving the meat up, she headed outside to put into the enclosed stone grill. The front door was propped open, because of the water for the bath and the heat in the house, so she had no problems with the door. The problem she encountered was in the form of one Sheriff Lory Takarada.

"Lory!" Kyoko screamed out both in shock and as a warning to her guest inside. "What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" she asked with concern. This was extremely unexpected since they just saw each other yesterday.

"Calm down, Kyoko. I didn't come here for anything bad," Lory informed her. His eyes flickered to the front door and then back at her. Her face was covered in worry lines and frowns. Just from her face should have been worried himself, but he had an idea as to why she was so nervous. "I came by to invite you to dinner. Kouki returned today much to Maria's delight, and we thought to have a family dinner with you."

Kyoko smiled brightly at the news. "He came back today! That's wonderful. How long is he going to stay for?"

"He said he was staying for a few weeks. He worked overtime, so he could come for the fair and for Maria," he said and noticed her shifting the large piece of meat in her hand. "Do you need to do something with that?" he pointed at the meat.

"Ah, yes, I'm going to smoke it overnight," she told him and started to walk towards the smoker. She walked past him giving Lory a chance to lean over and peek inside of the front door. From what little he could see, there was nothing or no one there. He even noticed that both the bedroom doors were open. Lory quickly followed back into place before Kyoko would notice.

"How was his trip? I suppose that he bought Maria a bunch of new dresses," Kyoko asked briefly looking back at Lory. Turning back forward, she let go of a nervous breath and hoped that Kuon was hiding somewhere good. She couldn't say if Lory would invite himself into her home but she would work hard for him not to.

"He did, and he also bought you something. Which I was hoping you would come by so he could give it to you personally." The gift was more of a thank you to Kyoko for always taking care of his daughter while Kouki was away. The moment he returned from any trip, the first things that would come out of Maria's mouth was stories of Kyoko, so Kouki wanted to show her his thanks with the gift. Kouki wasn't really in any hurry to give it to her though, preferring to spend time with Maria. Lory was just using his arrival and gift as an excuse to come check up on Kyoko and her ghost.

Kyoko was pulling open the door to her stone barbeque when Lory told her about the gift. She flinched at the heat coming from it but forced through the heat wave to hook up the meat. "He bought me something? Why would he do something like that?" Kyoko asked.

"Why would any man buy a lovely lady a gift?" Lory smiled behind her back and took advantage of the situation to create a misunderstanding.

Kyoko turned around and gave him an incredible look. She reached over to close the door to the barbeque as she replied, "As much as you would like for that to be true, I know it's not. Tell him that I appreciate the gesture, but that I do not require anything for taking care of Maria. I don't need any tokens of thanks from either of you Takarada men. You are like family to me. You don't pay family for taking care of each other," Kyoko chided Lory making him chuckle.

"Family also enjoy giving things to each other for no reason other than to make them smile. Isn't that also true?" Lory countered making Kyoko blush lightly.

"Fine, but will he wait until I come into town for the fair preperations? I have a few things here at the ranch that need to be taken care of, and tonight I was planning a bath. I already have it half way filled," Kyoko almost pleaded.

Lory sighed. He knew how long it took to fill that bath Hiro had for his wife. He had to fill up once or twice. It was a good excuse, one that Lory couldn't argue with. "I'll tell Kouki and see what he says. I was meaning to ask you, how are you doing since we last spoke about the stallion issue?"

Kyoko nervously licked her lips and quickly put on a scowl. "That stupid man. He came up to me the other day again asking to buy the ranch. 'If it's my ranch, I'll of course provide the stallion.' Like I would ever," Kyoko declared and mimicked Shotaro perfectly making Lory laugh.

"I hear there is a stallion in Northwood that you might be able to use. Perhaps you would like to ride up there and see if they would make an agreement with you," Lory offered and then swiped off some sweat from his brow. "Let's go inside and talk about it. At least away from the fire here," he said as he pointed at the barbeque behind her. Kyoko didn't move towards the house instead she quickly declined him.

"No, actually, Apollo has been very good recently, so I was going to make him my stud next year. I'm willing to wait till then. It will be a little rough, but I'll make ends meet. Besides, your son finally came home. You should be heading back to spend some time with him. I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight, but definitely another night," she finished and Lory could tell she was eager for him to leave.

He smiled softly and nodded. "Okay, be careful and have a good night, Kyoko."

"You too, Lory and tell Kouki, Welcome Home!" She said cheerily as he made his way to his horse. Kyoko watched him leave and then quickly went into the house.

"Kuon?" she called out looking at his bedroom door.

"I'm here," he spoke out from her left. He was sitting on the floor on the adjacent corner of the kitchen from the front door. She turned towards him with a huff.

"That's where you were hiding? on the Kitchen floor? What if he came in? What if he saw you? He could have shot you thinking you were a thief or holding me captive in my own home," she berated him as stood up.

He snorted at her. "You do have the most interesting imagination, Kyoko," he said with a smile.

"I do not, that is totally possible! You don't know Lory and his crazy ideas." Kyoko turned towards him and pointed a finger at him. "If he saw the two of us living together like this, you could bet your entire fortune that he would see us off to a church to be wed." She poked him hard in the chest and nodded. She walked over to the fire with the water and started hauling it out. "Never mind if you never touched me, he would think I was protecting you or something. The man is crazy!" she exclaimed as she disappeared around the front door.

Kuon stood there thinking about what she said, and it scared him. If he was right in his assessment of the man, Lory was extremely clever and never miss a beat even in his older age. He knew something was up in the Mogami Ranch and came to investigate or at least to see that Kyoko was alright. Perhaps, Lory didn't know it was him living with her, but he knew something was up. While that was troubling all on it's own, the thing that frightened Kuon was the fact that he didn't really mind the idea of being forced to marry her. In fact, it made him almost happy at the thought of it.

It wasn't until after dinner that the bath was ready. Again he was able to eat half of the meal she had prepared, but then she only gave him about half of what she did this morning.

"I'm going to need your clothes, so I may wash them while you bathe," Kyoko told him as she cleaned up the dishes.

"What am I going to wear as they dry?" He asked a little concerned.

"Don't you have extra?" She asked as if she were stating the obvious, and he shook his head.

"I usually just buy new ones when I want to change. The less I have the better for traveling," he replied, stunning Kyoko into silence.

While it did make sense, sort of... Kyoko couldn't believe the wastefulness. She thought perhaps he had carried a least one set of extra clothing, wear one as the other get's washed and dried and then change when required.

"But to simply throw them away as if nothing," she mumbled to herself as she walked into her bedroom. She came out with a handful of clothing and held them out to him.

"These are my father's," she said and looked at him from head to toe. "You are taller than him, but he was thicker than you so his shirts should fit you. I'm a little worried about the length of his pants, but you should have your clothes back tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," he said as he took the clothes. They were soft and faded, obviously well used. He wondered if this was okay, she was to the point of crying when Kuon was going to use his bed and now she was offering him his clothes. He watched her for a moment but she seemed fine so he left with her trailing behind.

"Should I be worried about my virtue with you following me to the bath?" Kuon teased making her frown and then blush.

"I'm not going in with you," she quickly explained, "I want to start washing everything before full dark, I was hoping you would hand them to me or toss them outside when you were..." she paused, flustered with trying to find the right word. Her hands flew up and down gesturing to his body as if to say naked but found different words, "done with them."

Kuon laughed at her unable to say anything like naked or even undressed. She was simply adorable at times. He opened the door to the bath and turned back to her. "I'll set them beside the door and tell you when it's safe," he informed her and disappeared leaving her baffled with his directions.

"Wait, you want me to come in while you are bathing?" Kyoko screamed through the door and waited for an answer. Her cheeks heated up at the thought of it and continued to do so as she waited.

"Kuon!" she screamed and banged on the door.

"Yes?" He finally answered her. She could tell he was just on the other side of the door and could also hear the laughter in his voice.

"I'm not going in there while you are bathing. Just give me your clothes before you get in," she ordered.

"So you rather have a naked man open the door to hand you something than have him covered by a wooden tub 10 feet away as you collected the items in safety," Kuon said out loud as if voicing his thoughts. Kyoko didn't think it of like that, she expected an arm and nothing else, but the possibility of seeing more was there with this method.

"Okay then, here you go," Kuon said and started to open the door.

"NO!" Kyoko screamed and grabbed the handle to shut the door. It swung inward so she leaned back and held on for all she was worth. "Get in, and I'll get them when you are done. Just set them next to the door." She heard him laugh softly, and she growled. He probably wasn't even undressed the cad. She let go of the handle and tried to regain her composure. It was a few minutes longer when she finally heard him call out to her.

"It's safe," he yelled out. He sounded far from the door, but Kyoko was a little afraid of finding a little too much of him. She gingerly opened it, the hinges creaking lightly. His clothes were neatly piled by the door as promised, and she heard the sloshing of water. Her eyes betrayed her and stole a glance at the corner of the bath. She saw the back of his head and shoulders and that was it. Kuon was sitting in the tub, not even facing her and completely covered as promised. His arms were stretched back, resting along the edges of the tub making the muscle in his shoulders bulge from the effort.

_Maybe those clothes won't fit, _she thought to herself as she took in the wide span of his shoulders.

"Is everything okay?" He called out, twisting his head slightly to catch her in his peripheral vision.

"Yes," she quickly replied, "Enjoy your bath." Kyoko quickly took his clothes and let the door shut on it's own, eager to be away from the siren in her tub. She headed towards the tub with the washing board. She should probably collect her dirty garments from her room, but didn't really have the time to do all the laundry that was required. His garments were the most important for the time being. She set to work, scrubbing each item up and down the wash board using lye soap. It took longer than usual, each of the items were stiff with dried sweat except from his daily use of the items. Once she was done, she was tempted to do it again with a pot of fresh water, but didn't. It was getting late, and she wanted her own bath.

After hanging up his clothes, Kyoko walked inside expecting him to be finished and in his room or sitting in the living room, but found nothing. She lit some candles for the house, walked over to the bathroom door and knocked.

"Is everything alright?" She called out to him.

"Fine, why?" He replied back. Kyoko wanted to say that she was worried since he was taking so long but didn't. She only had her father to compare him to, and he never used the tub.

"Nothing, just curious. I forgot to ask you not to drain the water, I'm going to use it after you are done," Kyoko told him and left. He heard her footsteps fade away and a sigh escaped his lips. He leaned back, his hand rubbed his eyes and a smile erupted from his face.

"That's why she wanted it hot," he spoke to himself. _Well, she could have joined me, _he thought wickedly. He snorted, laughing at himself and dunked completely underwater. After a few seconds, he emerged standing up to his full height and stepped out. He squeezed the water out his hair and wiped off as much as the water as he could from his body. He walked over to the pile of her father's clothes and soon found a problem with his borrowed items. Her father was not as large as she thought he was.

Kyoko was gathering her night gown and robe when she heard the front door open and close. She walked out of the room and gasped, then quickly turned around.

"They didn't fit," she estimated from his half dressed from.

"No, but I was happy I was able to button the pants," he joked. Kyoko let a little laugh slip as he laughed and risked a glance over to him. Oh, he looked, well she couldn't say he looked awful, but he didn't look comfortable. The pants were short, ending about two inches above his ankle. At least, as he stated, they were wide enough that he was able to wear them. Her father was thicker compared to his slimmer waist, so he was fine there but then came the shirt which had her blushing. He was able to button about three of the very last buttons of the shirt and from then on was nothing but the hard plains of his chest. She could tell the shirt was so tight around his shoulders and down his arms that there was no hope for the shirt should he move wrong. She was surprised he didn't already rip it by opening the door.

Kyoko bit her lip as she couldn't keep her eyes away from his chest. She tried to look away or down or even at his face, yet they kept flickering back to the pale flesh surrounded by the dusty red of the shirt.

"I'm sorry to say that the undergarments ripped when I tried them on," he told her making her take noticed that he was holding them in his hand. She blushed happy that it was growing darker in the house.

"It's fine," she said a little high pitched and coughed to clear her throat. "I sorely misjudged your size. It was my fault. It's just, your clothes didn't really fit you too well, I really thought you were smaller."

"It's alright," he said softly making her jump. He had snuck up on her again and was now standing slightly behind her to her right. He held out the undergarment, and she quickly took it. "They were just something I bought in a hurry, nothing tailored made."

Kyoko turned towards him to ask him how he found clothing close to his size in a hurry but instead of finding his green eyes, she saw his chest and quickly turned away.

"Yes, well they are still fine clothes," she said quickly, "They will be dry in the morning, and you'll be back to normal in no time. Please have a good night, and I shall see you in the morning." Kyoko was very careful in keeping her eyes averted as she walked past him and out the door. Kuon couldn't help but laugh at her flustered reaction.

"That was better than expected," he said to himself and immediately stripped the tight garments off, preferring to sleep naked then in those things.


	12. Whispers and Pressure

Chapter 12

The next morning, Kyoko awoke with the sun, got dressed in her usual outfit and collected his clothes. She knocked on his door lightly and entered when there was no answer. As soon as she opened the door, she had to fight not to slam it closed. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and opened them again.

That wasn't any better.

Kuon was still asleep with the thinnest blanket, thankfully covering his waist and right leg. He was on his stomach with his whole back and left leg completely uncovered. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon so his room was still slightly dark, but there was enough light to notice details. His hair was lighter clean, a lighter blonde than the dark blonde from before. It was also extremely thick, so much that she had a craving to touch it. She didn't, of course. It was also long, falling down to his shoulder blades. The next thing she noticed was how very big he was. Perhaps it was his position, but Kuon took up more than half of the bed from shoulder to shoulder and then the bed was just barely long enough for him to fit without draping a limb over the side. Then there was the muscle. When she first saw him, she thought he was on the skinner side of healthy. He didn't eat much, was a businessman and wore such loose clothing that she didn't think all that muscle was hiding underneath everything. Kyoko was so busy looking at the naked man in her father's bed that she became hysterical when he moved.

Kyoko practically threw his clean clothes on the trunk at the foot of the bed and ran out of the room, shutting the door as quietly as she could. She listened for his outcry saying that he was awake and that he saw her peeping at him, but nothing came. She hesitantly cracked open the door and looked inside. He rolled over to his side, the sheet covering him threatened to reveal everything at a moment's notice. She saw his clothes had mostly made it onto the floor instead of her goal. She groaned softly and darted in, putting his clothes neatly on top of the wooden chest and then left as silently as she could, without once glancing at the bed.

Had she, she would have realized that Kuon was awake.

The rest of the day started a trend that continued for the next few days. Kyoko would wake up and would either find Kuon already awake since he needed less start up time or waking up just as she started moving within the house. She would make breakfast, now able to serve him the perfect amount of food for each of his meals and then began the chores.

She never asked him to help, insisted that he should be using his vacation to rest or enjoy himself, but he countered her every argument. She wanted to argue but found her will to do so wilting at each moment. For one, Kuon was a good worker, strong and didn't need much direction. He even did extra things that she couldn't find the time to do, like fixing the fence that Apollo broke during his training and polishing her mother's old side saddle in the stables. Second, he made everything go by so much faster. Yes, he helped making the work load smaller, but he stuck close to her and told her stories, made her laugh and most of the time distracted her from actually working just talking about random things or goofing around. Time seemed to fly by with him around.

Another trend that happened was the constant arrival of one, Sheriff Lory Takarada. He came by around the same time every night, almost like clockwork, with a new excuse or reason why he came. They had grown to count on it, Kuon found the bathroom was the best hiding place since there was never a reason for Lory to enter that room. Kyoko was a lot less nervous, and it showed when Lory arrived. All three were wary of each other, each knowing that there was a reason for these visits, yet each night, Lory didn't press her or try searching for him, and each night he left telling her the same thing.

"Be careful, Kyoko," Lory said softly with a little smile.

"Always," she said cheerily. It was the forth night since Lory saw Tsuruga's horse on her land. The horse was gone now but there were changes, changes in her mostly. Kyoko was nervous at first but after each night, she was smiling more, and there was a light in her eyes that Lory hadn't seen in such a long time. She looked happy, and he was surprised that such intrigue caused it. Still, Lory didn't like the situation she allowed herself to be put in. Kyoko was living with a man who was not her husband. While he loved seeing her so alive, he wanted to make sure this man was worthy of his adopted daughter.

Lory arrived at the station late, wanting to pick up a few things before heading home. He opened his office door and found something new sitting on his desk, a folder with a note from Yukihito.

_Sheriff Takarada, _

_The information finally came in just after you left. Looks like he is hiding more than just a name and family._

_Yukihito_

Lory unwrapped the file and blinked at the contents. He scanned the top few documents and his expression grew more and more serious. Finally, he snapped it shut and tied it back up loosely. He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, not until he read every single thing that Kuon Hizuri was hiding.

_Day four at the Mogami Ranch..._

"I wish I could go with you," Kuon said as she saddled up Roxy.

"We have been together non-stop for the past three days. I'm sure you are sick to death of boring old me," she said jokingly. "This is your chance to finally do what you want, didn't you say that you wanted to read? I bet I have a few books you haven't read yet." Kyoko said as she pulled herself up and over Roxy. Kuon stepped up next to her as she settled in, his hand on her saddle.

"I could never be tired of you," he whispered making her flush lightly.

"The things you say, Mr. Kuon Hizuri. A girl could get the wrong impression," she sighed. "I'll be back sometime before dark. I'm going to be helping the Daruma-ya restaurant cook for the fair tomorrow. I'll be sure to bring something home for you to eat as I'm sure you won't eat a single thing for the rest of the day," Kyoko glared at him making him smile.

"I thought so," she grinned. "I'll see you tonight. Thank you for helping me feed the horses so quickly this morning."

"You know I don't mind. The rest of the chores will be done today too, don't worry," he assured her making her shake her head.

"You don't have to do that, Kuon," she said softly.

He smiled at her. "I want to. Have fun in town, and remember, I'm going to the fair with you tomorrow. Nothing you can say will stop me," he declared and stepped back to let her go.

Kyoko pressed her lips together, wishing she could think of more reasons why he shouldn't come but nodded and left. What would she say when they asked her why he was accompanying her to the fair? If she told them about the stallion, they would then ask where was he staying since he did disappear a few days ago. Kyoko sighed already nervous about all the questions, and no one even knows yet.

Kuon watched her walk away for a moment, but by the time she reached the edge of her property, he was gone. He almost ran into the barn and grabbed his saddle on the way to his horse.

"Alright, Rusty, no fun time for you today. I need your endurance," Kuon told him as he saddled him up as quickly as he could. As soon as everything was secured, he locked up everything and took off east to Clear Creek.

As expected, Kyoko's modest home town was rushing around like bees, so much that she tied up Roxy at the stables just outside of town, so she wouldn't be in the way. It would be easier to walk to Daruma-ya. The place was so busy that no one really had any time to stay and talk. She received a few greetings from some close acquaintances and a lot of the gentlemen hauling things to and fro in front of her. Some were talking amongst themselves occasionally, but Kyoko didn't think anything of it.

Everyone was working hard, and it showed. All the shops were putting up summer decorations and lanterns. The restaurants were staging their grills and prep stations to feed the incoming crowds. The artistry stores were getting ready for the influx and trying to show their products to their advantage. While the fair was just a summer celebration that started in the evening, the people coming in still provided a lot of business. They would be a fool if they didn't open up shop, at least until dusk.

She finally reached Daruma-ya, which was empty - not unusual for today.

"Mrs. Sasaki," she called out, looking around the corner trying to find the kind woman.

"Miss Kyoko?" Ai came out wiping her hands on her apron. "Oh, I didn't think you would be coming in today."

Kyoko gave her a confused look. "Why wouldn't I? I do every year."

Ai looked down nervously and then back at her. "Well with all the rumors from the Fuwa boy. I thought maybe..." She paused. Kyoko frowned at the mention of Shotaro's name but had to think about what rumors he was spreading. The only thing that came to mind was his chances to buy the ranch.

Kyoko growled, "Is that stupid man still going on about that? It's not happening! He should just forget all about it."

Ai smiled brilliantly and let out a sigh in relief. "Oh, I knew it. I was so frightened for a moment there," she said and took Kyoko's hand. "Well then child, let's get to work. Eiji didn't believe all that rubbish for one second and was expecting you, so your work station is ready." Ai walked her to a station with a knife, a wooden cutting block and a white apron on top. Kyoko got ready and started working, but she was extremely angry.

How dare Shotaro assume that he is going to get the ranch and to go as far as tell everyone in town too. It was infuriating. But why did everyone believe him? Didn't she find a stallion for breeding this year. She kept the ranch up in pristine condition. All of her animals were healthy, and she had no debts. Why would this rumor even grow like this? Kyoko slammed her knife down on a carrot a little too harshly earning a glare from Mr. Sasaki. She blushed and told herself to calm down and work.

_Meanwhile..._

Her eyebrow twitched the more and more people around her spoke.

"Do you think it's true?" Issei Asakura said to his drinking partner.

"No, not with her. There is no way," Motonori Akao replied confidently. "Did you even meet the guy? There is no way someone as good looking as him would sleep with someone as plain as Kyo..."

***SLAM***

Kanae dropped a chair she was carrying over head right in between the two gossiping men. Both men jumped up from fright and looked at the woman who dropped it. She quickly gave them a fake smile.

"Oops! It slipped," she lied. Both men looked at her oddly but walked further way from the stage.

"Kanae, you need to stop scaring off my customers," Ryutaro told her as she lifted the chair back up.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know we served gossiping old women. I thought this was where **men** came to relax," Kanae said callously. Ryutaro didn't reply, knowing how upset Kanae was about the recent topic of conversation within town. It started about two days ago and no one believed it at first. Everyone saw the blonde businessman head north not back east, and Kyoko wasn't raised to be that kind of girl. She wouldn't be with anyone unless she was married.

But the fires grew as the two worst gossiping women, Mimori and Erika, continued to spread the rumor. Both stating that there was no way Ren Tsuruga would ever turn to Kyoko with the both of them as a choice, unless Kyoko was playing dirty and slept with him. While most of the people knew how ridiculous that sounded, they choose to believe that perhaps Kyoko did seduce the handsome businessman.

"He seemed to go out of his way to speak to her. Did you see how he came to her assistance when Shotaro was merely speaking with her? It was if they were already intimate," Mimori said.

"Yes!" Erika quickly agreed and added, "She even leaned up against him so casually. There is definitely something there long before he left. Well, now we know why he left so abruptly."

There were only a few people that would stop the hearsay, should they overhear a negative comment about Kyoko, Ryutaro, sadly, wasn't one of them. Chiori was a little better than Kanae about it. Chiori would just yell at them or tell them to hush up. Kanae sent about five people to the clinic with "accidental" injuries. None worse than Kijima Hidehito, poor guy will be in a cast for the next few weeks. Ryutaro had to admit that no one should speak about any woman like he did with Kyoko. Maria was second when it came to violence, but couldn't quite do the damage Kanae could since she was a child. Hikaru, Ai Sasaki and Dr. Ogata politely requested anyone talking to simply stop. That left Lory and Eiji Sasaki who didn't have to say a word to stop the gossip, one glance and everyone was quiet.

Kanae walked onto the stage with her chair and everyone but Chiori gave her a wide berth. She set the chair down and started to concentrate on the dance they had to perform tonight. Well Kanae didn't really have to practice, she was the one who choreographed it, but she needed something physical to do before she walloped everyone in town. Chiori sat down on the floor next to Kanae and glowered out at everyone.

"It's like they don't even know her. They all grew up with her and yet they still say such horrible things. I'm not even from here, and I know she would never do such things," Chiori complained.

"If you know then stop talking about it," Kanae quietly said as she stomped her foot on the seat of the wooden chair.

"I'm sorry, it's just I want to scream at the town and prove to everyone that Shotaro is lying and that Kyoko is innocent. I would rather those rumors be about me than her. It would be more likely," Chiori griped and then slumped over her knees.

Kanae sighed and plopped down on the chair. "I know," she said sadly. "Shotaro was humiliated by Mr. Tsuruga and then those bubbly idiots got no where with the man and all three of them decided to take out their anger to her instead of him. If I ever see that man," Kanae sat up and punched the back of the chair with her fist, cracking it.

"Kanae, don't break anymore props!" Ryutaro yelled out.

Kanae rolled her eyes and stood up. "Break's over! Places everyone!" She yelled out eager for everyone to get this damn dance right so she could find Kyoko and see what was going on.

With the three of them, Kyoko, Ai and Eiji were able to finish all their preparations for the stand for the fair. There were so many different things that needed hours upon hours of cooking time, meat needed to fall off the bone, dough needed to rise, pies needed to cool. It was virtually dark when Kyoko was able to go home, but she needed to make a quick stop before she left.

"Kyoko!" Maria screamed out and jumped into her arms.

"Good evening, Maria," Kyoko smiled sweetly to the girl and found her father. "Welcome back, Kouki."

Kouki smiled warmly at Kyoko and greeted her kindly. "Good Evening, Kyoko. How are you doing tonight?"

"Great. I'm tried though. Mr. Sasaki is still a slave driver," she said making Kouki chuckle.

"Please come in and rest. Father is here as well, we were just talking about you," Kouki stated and gestured for her to come inside.

"Oh, dear," Kyoko grimaced, "I do hope it has nothing to do with those rumors."

"See! I told you they were all lying," Maria screamed out, right in Kyoko's ear to her dismay.

"Did you set them straight, Maria?" Kyoko asked, and Maria nodded sharply. Kyoko kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Maria."

"Come Maria, it's time for bed," Kouki said taking Maria from Kyoko's arms. Maria pouted but obeyed her father. She gave Kyoko a quick hug and disappeared.

"Father is in the living room. He has some things to show you," Kouki informed her.

Kyoko walked into the living room and found Lory thinking seriously about something with a glass of brandy in his hand.

"Good evening, Lory," she greeted him, snapping him out of his trance.

"Kyoko, I was just about to head out to your ranch," he said offhandedly as if he did it every day. Well recently he was.

"Well, I thought I would save you the trouble tonight. Plus, I did want to say hi to Kouki," she teased him lightly making him smile.

"I'm just concerned about you, my dear," Lory said sincerely as he gripped her shoulders. "You know better than to try hiding something from me."

Kyoko swallowed her heart back down and tried to lie, "What do you..." Lory glared at her and she looked down shamefully.

"It's a business agreement," she confessed. "He wanted a place to stay while I used his stallion to mate my mares."

"I thought as much, but Kyoko, you can't invite men into your home as if he were a eunuch," he chided her making her nod.

"He's been a perfect gentleman. He's never touched me, helps me around the ranch and even fixes things for me," she defended him and the herself, "and if I didn't do this, the ranch would have started to fall within the next couple of years. I had to."

"You didn't have to do anything," Lory said. "When are you going to learn to ask for help? We could have found you a new stallion, or you could have tried to create a new contract with the Fuwas."

Kyoko snorted. "Only if I sold him the ranch," she murmured.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Lory offered making her gasp in horror. Lory laughed softly and nodded. "Okay, then marry Kouki. With his income, you would be able to keep the ranch, and it really would make Maria so happy.

Kyoko was getting very tired of this discussion. "And what about Kouki?" Kyoko whispered harshly. "Did you ever once think that maybe he doesn't want to marry me? That maybe he wants to pick his own wife again? Why are you pushing him to marry again if he isn't ready?"

"Actually, I do think it is time to marry again," Kouki answered for himself as he walked back into the room. "Maria does need a mother, and most of the women I have met do not want to deal with an 8 year old child nor enjoys the demand my work has on my time. Maria loves you, Kyoko."

"And you?" Kyoko looked up at him earnestly, "Do you love me?"

"I do," he replied with no real emotion in his words.

"As a man and wife?" Again she asked in another way, and Kouki hesitated giving her his answer. "You love me like a little sister or maybe just because Maria loves me, but I don't want that. I want what you and Rina had, not a marriage out of obligation and duty, but of real passionate love."

"I can love you, Kyoko," Kouki whispered and stepped up her. Before she could object, Kyoko found herself in Kouki's arms with his lips pressed upon hers. His lips were soft and gentle, and she felt safe in his arms but there was nothing in the kiss. Kyoko pulled away first and looked into his eyes.

"You don't love me," she whispered to him. "You want a mother for your daughter, but you should also want a wife for yourself. Please keep looking. Maria will love the woman you love, whomever it may be, but it's not me."

Kouki let go, and Kyoko stepped back turning to Lory, but before she could speak he did, "Do you even know who you have in your home? The thing's he's done? He's..."

"Kuon Hizuri," Kyoko interrupted. "Son of Kuu and Julie Hizuri, owners of Hizuri Rails, America's largest railroad company." She stunned Lory into silence as Kyoko turned narrow suspicious eyes to him. "He told me who he was, how did you find out?"

"Kyoko, there was a strange man living with my daughter, how did you expect me to react?" Lory reasoned with her, "I will not have you defiled by some roaming businessman.

"Defiled? I knew you would think that way. He hasn't touched me. He doesn't want me. Mr. Hizuri just wanted to escape all the people that want things from him, all the Mimoris and Erikas that are trying to capture him for his money. All the Shotaro's that just want to befriend him because of his name."

"And you?" Lory asked, "Aren't you using him for his horse?"

"N..." she quickly stopped and pressed her lips together. "It's a fair trade. Peace and quiet for one week while Rusty does what nature wants him to do. I never forced Kuon to do anything he didn't want to do."

"Kyoko, do you love him?" Kouki asked, making her turned to him flabbergasted.

"I..." she licked her lips and shook her head, "No, of course not. This is just business. In three more days, he will leave, and I will never..." she hesitated and swallowed. "I'll never see him again," she said trying to sound like she didn't care. Both men just looked at her with the exact same expression.

"I need to go," Kyoko quickly stated and turned to leave.

"Wait," Kouki called out making her stop. She didn't turn around though. She heard footsteps go and come back towards her. He held out a thin box to her.

"I did buy this for you. I saw it, and thought you would like it. Please take this as an apology for tonight. You know I think fondly of you, Kyoko," Kouki said, and Kyoko heard the sincerity in his voice. She looked up and saw him smiling softly.

"Thank you," she said softly and took the item. She opened it up and found a beautiful ivory cameo choker set in white lace. "It's beautiful Kouki, I love it." She turned, gave him a brief hug and left.

"Kyoko," Lory called out to her as she closed the door.

"Let it go, Dad," Kouki said with his hand on his shoulder. "She's right. She's like my sister, and she wants to be treated like a lover. Let him do that."

Kyoko hugged herself trying to keep herself from falling apart as she walked over to Roxy. Everyone was already inside, minus a few stragglers heading home like herself. If they noticed her or tried to get her attention she didn't pay attention. She was shaking as her emotions collided inside of her. She was angry at Lory for always pushing her and threatening her with Kuon's identity. As if she cared that he had to hide who he was, it didn't stop him from being him. Then she was sad, knowing that she would probably live her life alone. No one could fall in love with her like she dreamed of. She didn't have a feminine curve to her body or the sweet mentality like the other women. She didn't dress up or even try to look pretty. All she had was her ranch, her horses and her memories of her father. Roxy was still tied to the post where Kyoko tied her to.

"You love me, right?" Kyoko asked Roxy as she scratched her neck. Roxy dipped her head down, and Kyoko hugged her lightly. She pulled back with a little sniff. "Let's go home, Roxy."

The moment the house appeared, Kyoko groaned. "I forgot the food," she sighed to herself. Maybe she could make him a sandwich. Would he be happy with that? She still had some of the smoked buffalo meat left. She walked in obviously tired and spoke out without seeing him.

"I'm so sorry, but I forgot about your dinner. Would you mind something simple for din... Kanae?" Kyoko looked up and dropped her jaw at the scene in her house. Kuon was sitting in the single chair in her living room, his arms resting still on the arm rest. He looked at Kyoko and gave her a little smile. Kanae was standing on the other side of the room with her gun pointing steadily at him.

"Kanae, what are you doing?" Kyoko cried as she rushed over to her friend. "Put the gun down!"

"What am I doing?" Kanae yelled back, "What are you doing? I come over after practice to see you and find him in your barn brushing your horses. His stuff is in your father's room as if he was living here. WHY IS HE HERE?" Kanae screamed making Kyoko flinch.

"Kanae, calm down. He's my guest. Please, put the gun down," Kyoko pleaded looking nervously to Kuon and back at Kanae.

"If I may," Kuon started to stand up making Kanae step forward, thrusting her small revolver at him. He quickly sat back down.

"Don't move. I don't know you, nor do I trust you. Not like this idiot," Kanae said seriously.

"Kanae," Kyoko whined, "that's not nice."

"That was uncalled for," Kuon said at the same time. He stood up, regardless of Kanae's threat. "Go ahead and shoot me if you like, but I promise you. I have not harmed nor do I intend to harm Kyoko."

"Miss Mogami!" Kanae corrected him.

"Kanae, Stop!" Kyoko screamed, but Kanae didn't relent. Kyoko sighed wondering if this day was ever going to end. She had enough.

"Hey!" Kanae called out as Kyoko walked past her towards Kuon. Kanae tried to grab her arm, but Kyoko weaseled away. She stopped directly in front of Kuon and turned towards her friend with her arms crossed.

"Kyoko, what are you doing? Come here," Kanae beckoned her over, her voice softer than it was all night. There she showed her real emotion, she was scared. Scared of finding a strange man in her sister's home and that man turning Kyoko against her.

"Kanae, please put the gun down and listen. He's my guest, and I will not stand for you to continuously point a gun at my guest," Kyoko shouted the last part with her eyes closed and her body shaking from rage. Kanae didn't lower the gun right away.

"You, Tsuruga, sit back down," Kanae ordered, and he did. She held out her hand to Kyoko and spoke, "come over here, and I promise I'll put it away." Kyoko took a step towards her and took her hand. Kanae pulled her the rest of the way as if snatching a bone from a tied up hungry dog. She pushed Kyoko behind her, her eyes never wavering from Kuon who sat harmlessly on the chair.

"Kanae," Kyoko threatened softly, and the gun lowered to the ground. "Kanae," again Kyoko pleaded, and Kanae sighed. She lifted her skirts, ruffles and all and slipped the gun back into her thigh holster on right thigh. She watched Kuon as she did, his eyes never leaving her face as she did this.

"Thank you," Kyoko said relieved, the adrenaline starting to fad away. She felt Kanae step back, pushing further away from Kuon. Thinking that she wanted to leave, Kyoko moved, but that wasn't her plan. Kanae grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the kitchen.

"Okay, tell me what is going on," Kanae tried to sound patient, to be understanding but she wasn't. She was far from it.

"I told you he is a guest," Kyoko repeated.

"Why is he a guest in your home? Is he a boy lover? Is that why it's safe for an unmarried woman to live with strange man?" Kanae asked with a little hope in her voice.

"What? No!" Kyoko immediately responded and then had to think about it, "Well, actually I don't..." she looked over to Kuon, "Are you?"

"No," Kuon replied quickly and sternly. "Not even a little," he added.

"The why did you think this was okay?" Kanae asked.

"I was desperate. I needed a stud," Kyoko finally told her.

Kanae looked at Kyoko like she had sprouted a second head. "If you are feeling lonely, Kyoko, there are other ways to help with a release."

"What are you talking about?" Kyoko asked confused and then Kuon snorted, bringing her attention over to him. He was blushing red and so was Kanae and then Kyoko got her meaning.

"KANAE!" Kyoko screamed. "I do not... that is just... I can't believe you just... I needed his stallion. His horse to mate my mares. I told you about Shotaro holding Perses hostage. Ren," Kyoko said with effort, "was willing to stud his horse for a week, if I gave him a place to stay away from all the women in town. Don't you remember all the talk we heard about him from those girls?"

"How is his womanizing your problem to deal with?" Kanae whispered.

"Why am I womanizing when the attention is unsolicited?" Kuon asked trying to make sense of her logic.

"Shut up," Kanae snapped at him returned to Kyoko. She was smiling, laughing at Kuon's remark. Kanae blinked, looking at Kyoko's expression and something just clicked.

"I'm staying the night," Kanae announced, confusing both of them.

"Um, okay," Kyoko said. She really couldn't find an issue with that. Kanae knew he was here, so exposure wasn't an issue. She would just sleep with Kyoko so room wasn't an issue. A thought occurred to her. "You can't shoot him while I'm a sleep," Kyoko stated making Kanae snicker.

"That's why I love you," Kanae said and pulled Kyoko into a hug.

"May I get up now?" Kuon asked.

"Yes," Kyoko said as she pulled away to look at Kuon. "Please forgive her. She is extremely overly protective."

"As I gather," Kuon agreed. "You seem to bring that out in people," he said softly and then bowed slightly. "If you don't mind, I will retire. I hope you don't mind if I block the door, for my own peace of mind."

Kanae smirked happy with herself while Kyoko rushed to defend her friend, "She wouldn't have shot you. Kanae wouldn't hurt a fly." The word fly wasn't heard as both Kyoko and Kuon jumped and then ducked when a gun went off.

"I would if that fly was hurting my friend," Kanae said coolly as she put the gun back in her holster.

"Don't shoot a gun inside my house!" Kyoko yelled upset. "You put a hole in my wall!" She screamed as she walked over to the east side of the house. There was a hole in the wall near a picture of her parents. "What if you hit my parents!" She cried.

"I knew what I was doing. I'm a crack shot," she said proudly.

"You scared me. The only time I want a gun shot heard is outside while hunting. Don't you ever do that again!" Kyoko bawled with watery eyes. Before Kanae could take a step, Kuon was beside her.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone is fine. I'll fix the hole tomorrow, and you won't even remember that it was there," Kuon cooed softly to her. Kanae watched as he lifted her chin and smiled sweetly down at her. He rubbed his thumb across her cheek and wiped away the only tear that fell from her eyes.

"Let's go to bed," Kanae announced unhappily. She jerked Kyoko out of his arms stomped into the room.

"Ah!" Kyoko yelped and struggled to keep up. "Good night, Ren," she yelled out just before her door slammed shut.

"That was very rude," Kyoko reprimanded her. "I insist that you go out there and apologize to the poor man."

"I'll do it tomorrow morning," Kanae said casually already started to undress.

Kyoko pouted and looked at the wall that separated the two bedrooms. "Do you promise?"

Kanae sighed, "Yes, I promise. Now help me out of this thing." She turned to show the laces of her dress. Kyoko smiled. Kanae hasn't spent the night with her in forever and while the circumstances that started it was unusual, at this moment, Kyoko was happy. They undressed each other, and Kanae was slowly taking out all the pins that held Kyoko's hair up.

"So tell me the truth. What is going on with that man?" Kanae asked again softer this time as she let down Kyoko's hair.

"It's just as I said. It's a business transaction. He lends me Rusty while I lend him a room and feed him. That's all," Kyoko said getting tired of having the same conversation over and over.

"And when did you fall in love with him?" Kanae asked softly.

"You are the second person to ask me that. I am not in lo..."

"Kyoko," Kanae whispered knowingly making Kyoko sigh.

"It just happened. I wasn't really expecting it," Kyoko confessed.

Kanae fell silent, letting her admission sink in. They both stayed silent while Kanae ran a brush through her hair. It was a taxing process, not nearly as bad as Maria's with all her curls but because it was so long. Kanae loved Kyoko's hair but would never want the hassle of it for herself.

"Are you going to tell him?" Kanae asked after taking out every single tangle out of Kyoko's thick black hair.

"No, absolutely not," Kyoko stated, shaking her head. "He is leaving in three days," she said as if that made everything final.

"So?" Kanae stated. She fell onto Kyoko's bed with a sigh. "Maybe he will stay," She offered twisting her head to look at Kyoko.

Kyoko laughed. "Yeah, right. I don't have anything to offer a man like that," Kyoko declared and crawled onto the bed to lay down with Kanae. "He could have anyone woman he wanted, there is no way he would want to be with me," she finished as she lay down on her back. Kanae turned to her side with an angry scowl.

"You need to stop belittling yourself," Kanae scolded her. "You are the most wonderful person in this stupid little town. He would be lucky to have you," she finished but then quickly added, "But he can't, because you belong to me." Kyoko laughed as Kanae wrapped her arms and legs around Kyoko's body. They stayed up a little talking about the fair tomorrow but quickly fell asleep, both exhausted from the day's events.

Kuon woke up just before dawn, the light out the window still dark but showing hints of the morning glow. He quickly got dressed, eager to start and finish the morning chores before Kyoko finished dressing.

"Good morning."

Kuon froze as he opened the door to find a fully dressed Kanae sitting on the couch sipping coffee. He looked at her hands and then at Kyoko's door nervously.

"She's still asleep. With everything that is happening in town, her confrontation with Lory and then my little rouse, she was exhausted. She might even sleep in today. I doubt it though," Kanae said wistfully and took another sip of her coffee.

"She got into an argument with the Sheriff? About what?" He asked worriedly.

"He tried to push his son on her again. This time he was there and actually proposed," Kanae looked up at him when she said this and saw a hardening of his jaw. She smiled and looked at her coffee. "She said no. That he didn't love her. That she wanted more for herself and him." A sense of relief filled Kuon when she told him Kyoko's answer.

"Everyone deserves love," Kanae said nonchalantly. "She told me this one day when we were talking. It wasn't even a serious talk. I don't really remember who or why it came it up, but that one line stuck with me. Out of the three of us she is the most romantic, the most feminine in personality. Always dreaming of the romance her father spoke of. She had thought it was in the form of that man growing up, but even after that pile of manure tossed her away, she still clung onto the idea. Though she never believes that she would find it for herself."

Kuon looked at her as she spoke about her friend. Sometimes, he couldn't tell if this woman liked Kyoko or not. It seemed like Kanae thought her a fool and at the same time admired her greatly. She looked over at him and asked, "Do you believe that?"

"Believe what?" He asked puzzled by this conversation.

"Do you believe that everyone deserves love?" She asked again trying to speak softly.

"No," he replied with no hesitation making her chuckle softly.

"Yeah, I thought that way too," she replied and stared off again. "It was never a question as to who would ever love me. It was more, who could _I _ever really love? There are so many stupid people out there, all worthless and undeserving. I thought that there wasn't a single person that was worthy of loving except her."

Kanae stood up then and walked over to her Kuon. She looked up at him sadly. "I had never seen unconditional love before I met her, even within my own family. I trust her more than my own flesh and blood, but I don't think I need to explain how she makes me feel. If I'm right, which I know I am, we both feel the exact same way." Kanae saw a stone cold face staring at her as if her words meant nothing, but the storm in his green eyes said she was right.

"Now the question I have, is why do you believe you don't deserve love?" She asked and then turned way, walking towards the kitchen. She dumped her coffee into the sink and turned back to him.

Kuon was standing there, stoic and lost in his own mind with her words haunting him. Kanae wanted Kyoko to be happy, she earned it after all that she has been through. If this was the man she loved, and she saw the look of pure adoration from him last night, then she would accept him, so long as he didn't break her heart at the end of the week.

"Hey," Kanae called out still trying to be quiet. "Come out for a little bit and grab a chair and your hair brush," she told him as she turned to shuffle through a drawer in the kitchen.

"Why?" He asked cautiously, still wary of her intentions, and the gun at her thigh.

Kanae smiled as she pulled out a pair a scissors. "Paranoid much?" She teased. "Think of this as my way of apologizing for last night. You look awful in a pony tail." He agreed but only in one condition.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Teehee, how many of you stopped reading to picture Ren naked in bed with long gold hair spilling around his shoulders? *grin* Well, sorry. I cut it off! Mwahaha!**


	13. Preparations

Chapter 13

Kyoko awoke and noticed right away that her friend was replaced by a little note on her bed.

_Kyoko, _

_I left early. I didn't tell Ryutaro that I was going to be staying overnight, and I don't want him searching all over town looking for me like an idiot. _

_Please be careful and know that whatever decision you make, I support fully. _

_Kanae_

Kyoko smiled and hopped out of bed with a burst of energy. Today was the fair, everyone from all three towns will coming in to talk, eat and dance the night away. The yearly celebration held no real special meaning but has become a tradition and a grand one at that. It started long ago when the settled and everyone kept looking forward it each year, thus began the Summer Fair.

Looking out the window told Kyoko how late she slept in. She quickly got dressed and haphazardly pinned up her hair. She was sticking the last few pins in when she stumbled out of the room.

"I'm so sorry. I overslept, but I'll have breakfa..." her words died when she looked at him and then she whispered in awe, "You cut your hair." It was no longer tied up since he didn't have the length for it. Instead it fell down to the base of his neck, and it was cut to have strands of it fall slightly over his eyes. It even looked thicker than before making her want to run her hands through it.

"Do you like it?" Kuon asked as he pulled on a lock of it. He thought it was sort of annoying having it always fall over his eyes. He looked up from his seat to find Kyoko looking dreamingly at him. Her hand appeared beside his face, and she slowly touched a few strands of his hair. Her smile brightened as she combed his hair away from his eyes only to let it fall back into place. She then ran her fingers along the left side and around his ear making him shiver in pleasure.

"It suits you well," she whispered and pulled away with a little blush.

_Well that settles it. I'm keeping it like this for life, _Kuon thought to himself. _Thank you, Kanae. _

Kyoko coughed and forced herself away from his hair. She felt like she could spend hours just touching his hair. "I should start making breakfast," she said to him thought it was more to himself. She noticed that he already had a cup of coffee and that there was water in the fire. She frowned.

"What is the water for?" she asked turning back to him.

Kuon smiled. "Your bath," he replied.

"My bath?"

"I thought you might like one before the event," he explained with a soft smile on his lips.

"You shouldn't have. I mean, you should take it. After all you are preparing it and then I can just wash up like I normally do after you are done," she said flustered.

"Nonsense. I'm waiting for the water to boil like you said you liked it. It will be too hot for me to use right away," Kuon said with a tone if distaste to try and make her agree to the treatment.

Kyoko really didn't know what to say. She blushed softly and bowed, "Thank you." She made breakfast, and Kuon filled the conversation with questions of what he would expect for tonight. He couldn't help the smile on his face, eager to see her expressions as the day goes by.

After breakfast was done and cleaned up, Kyoko rolled up her sleeves to tackle the chores for her horses.

"It's already done," Kuon said from his seat as he read the local paper. He smiled at her as she looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"What is?" She asked.

"Everything. The stalls are cleaned, there is fresh hay, and all the water troffs are filled. All of the horses are out already and were fine this morning," he clarified what everything was for her. Kyoko looked at him stunned and then looked outside.

"Why? I know I woke up late, but you didn't have to do all that alone," she said with a little frown.

He shrugged. "I woke up early and had nothing to do," he said as if that was something everyone would do in that situation. Kyoko looked at him incredibly. She wanted to believe that he really did finish everything, but she had doubts. It took her hours to complete that alone. Her eyes flickered to him and then back outside.

"Excuse me," she pardoned herself not wanting to tell him that she wanted to check over his work. She didn't want to offend him, but sure enough everything inside the stables was perfect. Kyoko went back into the house to find him smirking to himself.

"What time did you wake up?" She asked astonished.

"Early," he simply replied. "Though I just started filling the tub, so it will still be awhile," he added. Kyoko sat down opposite him in shock and then she realized that she didn't know what to do with herself. Kuon watched her fidget with her internal thoughts and laughed.

"Now you understand what I went through when you told me to just rest," he teased making her frown. She stood up with a little glare at him and went to the east side wall looking for the little bullet hole Kanae caused.

"Fixed it," Kuon stated again making her frown. Kyoko turned towards her father's desk to look over her financial information.

"You did that two days ago," Kuon informed her making her groan in frustration. Finally she walked back to him and stole the paper from his hands. Kuon chuckled softly as she settled on the couch and started reading. There wasn't much to it, but Kyoko tried to make it last, reading every single article printed even if it wasn't interesting.

Meanwhile, Kuon went to and fro from the bath filling up the tub. She was curious as to what he was doing in between buckets and peeked at him. He was reading the Odyssey in her father's old chair. She let herself get distracted by him. Her eyes again finding his new hair cut intriguing to look at and then her eyes would drift down to his strong features. He was wearing his old loose clothing and wondered if that was what he was going to wear tonight. Not that it mattered to her what he wore, but she wished that she could provide something more for him.

"Your bath is ready," he suddenly informed her. Kyoko nervously looked up at him and set the twice read newspaper down.

"Okay," she whispered and headed to her room to get her clothes for tonight. When Kyoko came out, Kuon was back in the chair reading the book. She licked her lips anxiously and headed out to the bath. When she reached the door, she smelled something different. Once inside, she was surrounded by a soft scent of roses, yet when she looked around there were none in the room. Kyoko let her hair down and undressed confused as to where the scent was coming from, and why didn't she smell it before now.

Stepping onto the step leading into the tub, she gasped inaudibly finding red rose petals floating on the surface of the water. Kyoko gingerly touched one of the petals and found the source of the scent as she inhaled the steam from the water.

"It's the water," she murmured to herself. She slipped her hand into the hot water and back out. It felt the same, and she couldn't see any full roses at the bottle of the tub. She smelled her hand and smiled. It was extremely light, but it was there. Finally, she allowed herself to slip in and sighed as the hot water lapped around her. Kyoko stayed like this for a while, sitting in the rose scented bath with her eyes closed. She could have fallen asleep soaking in the warm water like this.

Figuring she had to actually wash herself, she stood up to reach for some soap when she saw a little brown bottle and next to it was a bar of hard pink soap. She picked up the bottle first, opened it and smelled it. Roses. She tilted the little bottle dropping a small drop onto her finger. It was oil, a very light oil. She set the bottle down after closing it back up and picked up the bar. She only made soft lyre soap not wanting to spend the money for the salt to make a hard soap, so this was different. When she picked it up she found that it also smelled of roses. She cleaned up, using the hard soap on her skin and just clearing any debris from her hair by ducking underwater.

She didn't know how much time she spent in the bath, but felt like she should get out. Stepping out, Kyoko felt like she was at a spa. She felt softer and spoiled by the things Kuon got her. She would have to repay him somehow and at least thank him when she saw him inside. There was a knock at the door making Kyoko jump.

"Yes?" she called out as she pressed a white drying cloth against the front of her body.

"It's Kanae," answered the door.

Kyoko smiled brightly and rushed over, opening the door completely. "Hi... AH!" She screamed and quickly shut the door. She burned a dark red. They failed to mention that it was Kanae AND Kuon at the door. Kyoko was mortified.

"Get the hell out of here. I told you the robe would have been fine. Put the dress in her room, and we'll get dressed there," Kanae growled at Kuon who was still staring at the exact spot Kyoko had stood. Kanae slapped him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks," he mumbled and left. Never will he forget the vision of beauty that he witnessed. Her hair was down, something he had never seen, wet and clung to the edges around her face and shoulders and down her back. She had a white thin sheet that was plastered to her wet body. Oh the curves that she hid behind those simple clothes. Long shapely legs flowing to the swell of her hips and up to a tiny waist. Her arms held the cloth over her body, but the thin see-through cloth did nothing to hide the dark curls between her thighs or the dark tips of her breasts.

"Kanae!" Kyoko cried as the other woman entered the room. "Why didn't you tell me he was there?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you were going to just open the door completely naked," Kanae said defensively. "Besides, you closed the door so quickly, he didn't see anything. I didn't see anything. Calm down," she reassured her and then inhaled with an inquiring look, "Why does it smell like roses in here?"

Kyoko sighed and finished drying off. "It's the water. What are you doing here, Kanae?"

"I thought I would stop by and help you get dressed. You always struggle with your make-up and hair," Kanae lied smoothly as she inspected the bath water. This was the condition that Kuon had for her to cut his hair - help Kyoko get ready for the fair tonight. _He really went all out for her, _Kanae thought idly.

"Really?" She looked up at Kanae with big doe eyes.

Kanae rolled her eyes but smiled. "Yeah, really. Wouldn't it be nice to do something different with your hair for the fair?"

"YES!" Kyoko smiled brightly and threw herself into Kanae's arms. When Kyoko started getting dressed, Kanae stopped her.

"Don't put those on yet. Let's go back to your bedroom first," Kanae said and held out Kyoko's robe.

"But why? I don't want Ren," she had to remind herself, "seeing me in my undergarments."

"Trust me, he is getting dressed for the fair too. I'll run interference should he be out of his room," Kanae promised thus allowing Kyoko to agree. He was no where to be found, but Kyoko still rushed into her room, still embarrassed by the mishap earlier. Kyoko laughed nervously as she wiped her feet from the dirt outside while Kanae closed the door with a knowing smile on her lips. Kyoko looked up at her and gave her a questioning look. Kanae pointed behind her causing Kyoko to turn.

Kyoko screamed and almost fainted if it wasn't for Kanae. Inside of her room was a dress, displayed on a torso mannequin. Oh it was exquisite. The first thing she noticed was the hat that Lory bought her a few days ago and then her eyes took in the dress that matched it. It wasn't a perfect match, the flowers being different, but the color was exact.

"What...? Where did...? Who..? Did you... Kanae," Kyoko cried softly looking the fine gown.

"Let's put it on," Kanae said eager to see the dress on her friend just as much as Kyoko enjoyed looking at it.

"No!" Kyoko screamed, shaking her head furiously. "It wouldn't fit. I wouldn't look right. It's too beautiful. There is no way!"

"Kyoko," Kanae called out in the mist of Kyoko's self condemnation. When she didn't stop, Kanae grabbed her shoulders and forced Kyoko to look at her. "Kyoko, it will fit because it's for you. It will look great, because you are beautiful. Stop living in Shotaro's words and start respecting yourself."

"I can't," she whispered as she looked at the dress. "Everyone will stare, and what will they think?"

"Since when did we care what other people think?" Kanae asked her. "I remember someone told me that she didn't care if anyone though she was pretty. Now, all I'm hearing is that you care if someone thinks you ARE pretty. What is wrong with this picture?"

Kyoko blinked and looked at the ground. A small smile slipped across her lips and then a tiny giggle. Kanae smiled as Kyoko started to laugh at the though of it.

"There, now, let's put it on," Kanae said making Kyoko stop breathing.

Which turned out to be a good thing. Kyoko had to wear a corset, which she has never worn before. Not breathing seemed to be the goal of the torture device.

"Are you sure it has to be this tight?" Kyoko breathed as Kanae pulled on the strings.

"Yes! Now stop squirming," Kanae ordered and pulled. On came the petty coats and then the rear bustle which was small compared to the ones she's seen the other women wore. Kyoko found herself eager to put on the dress but pouted when Kanae sat her down to do her hair first.

"It would be best to get this done before your long hair gets tangled in all those roses," Kanae informed her and then bent down and smelled Kyoko. She snickered softly. _She smells like roses now. He really did plan this out, _Kanae shook her head and got to work. First her hair, fixing it with the hat and ensuring that it was secured for the night, then Kyoko was put into the dress and finally the make-up. It took hours, which these things usually do. By the time she was done, it was time to go. Kanae still needed to get dressed herself.

"Everyone is going to die," Kanae said pleased with herself, looking at the final product.

Kanae came out first whistling to herself with a big smile on her face. Kuon stood impeccably dressed near three horses - Hermes, Roxy and Ryutaro's mare that Kanae borrowed, Brandy. Kanae couldn't help but take notice on how extremely handsome he was. He finally wore clothes that were tailored for him. He wore a grayish blue long sleeved shirt with a black vest. It was tucked into black slacks and finished with black cowboy boots. He was playing with a new black cowboy hat that had a silvery hatband.

"Miss Kotonami," he bowed slightly with a smile. "Thank you for helping me with this."

She glowered at him. "This was way more than I was willing to do as a way of making amends, but," her frown morphed into a smile. "It was completely worth it." Kanae's grinned as she thought of all the idiots in town falling over themselves when they see her. She quickly frowned up at him and poked him in the chest. "Don't get use to this. She doesn't dress like this every day, nor should you expect her to. You were lucky I was even able to get her into the thing."

Kuon smiled gratefully. "I would never want to change her, you have my word on that. I just wanted to give her something special. I saw her looking at herself in the mirror with the hat one morning, and she has this longing look in her eyes. I wanted to give her something before I left."

Kanae frowned and grew angry as she saw that same longing look on him the moment he spoke about leaving. She huffed, walking past him and climbed onto Brandy. "I believed you to be a smart man, Mr. Tsuruga. I truly hope that my assumption is correct, and you don't do anything stupid by her," she finished and rode off before he could reply.

Kuon frowned, now alone, waiting for Kyoko. _Why does everyone think that I'm going to force myself on her like some drunken heathen? _Kuon looked up when he heard the door close and found himself extremely tempted. She timidly looked up at him and then back down with rouge tinted cheeks. Her right hand was being pressed to cover the skin the dress showed over her breasts while her left was curled beside her face trying to hid herself from view. Kuon didn't realize he was walking towards her until he was already by her side.

"You are breathtaking," Kuon whispered softly making her face turn scarlet. He took her in as she tried to cover her embarrassment behind her hands. Kanae piled her black hair up and tucked most of it into the little pink hat, only leaving a few curled strands of it out of the right side. The hat, itself, was pinned towards the right side of her head leaving a little bit of her straight black hair free for a stark contrast. From what he saw, her make-up was light though her red face hid most of it. The dress and hairstyle left her neck completely bare except for a white lace choker with a ivory cameo. Then there was the dress.

It was the most revealing thing she has ever worn. It had a square neck line that revealed her collarbone and the top part of her chest with the tiniest peak of cleavage the corset forced upon her. The neck line was lacy around her breast and around her right shoulder. Moving to her left shoulder, the lace morphed into small roses and grew into larger ones around her shoulders to her back. The back dipped down to a V shape that hit just before the corset would show. The gown was form fitting, hugging her curves from her tiny waist to the flare of her hips then slightly hugged those until mid thigh. From there white lace and fabric fell around her feat with a light pink tone to it. Behind her the dress fell in folds over the rear bustle, edged with more darker pink roses in perfectly placed positions. Lastly, were her freshly polished black boots that he did while she bathed.

"Too much," Kuon heard her mutter behind her hands. He was so taken with her, that he didn't catch her first words.

"I'm sorry, repeat that?" He leaned down to try and hear her.

"This is too much. The bath, the rose water and now the dress. What are you trying to do to me?" Kyoko asked with big sparkling eyes.

"I wanted to see you happy," Kuon admitted softly making Kyoko laugh and cry at the same time.

"You devious man," she cried and then hugged him. She loved him, knew with every fiber of her body that this man would forever be in her heart.

Kuon hugged her gently, not wanting to ruin all the hard work she went through getting dressed but loving every moment like this. He felt her pull away and reluctantly let go. He smiled as she wiped her tears and gave him a sweet smile of her own.

"Thank you. You have no idea how this makes me feel," Kyoko told him sincerely, looking at the ground timidly and added, "I promise to pay you back somehow."

Kuon took her chin and forced her to look up at him. "You've already paid me in full," he whispered softly to her. Her lovely face, lit up with an internal light at the sheer joy and rapture this girl emanated from such a simple thing. That memory, including thousands of other ones from their time together was worth more to him than the yards of silk and lace she wore.

Kyoko looked into his green eyes, framed by his golden hair, and she badly wanted him to kiss her. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her body was enflamed with the desire. His hand moved from her chin to caress her left cheek. Her eyes fluttered down as his hand brushed against her bare neck not use to the skin being revealed and then left her. She looked up at him and he held his arm out, waiting for her to take it. She looked at him dressed in the finest clothing she has ever seen and took a shaky breath as she took his arm.

She was so worried about dirtying the dress that she didn't even think about how she was going to ride there. When the horses came into view she bit her lip worried.

"How am I going to ride there?" She asked with concern. He smiled and pulled Roxy up next to her. She was equipped with her mother's old side saddle. Kyoko pressed her lips together in a little frown making Kuon laugh.

"I gather you don't like riding side saddle," he said, and Kyoko shook her head. "Can you?" he asked.

"I can, awkwardly, but I can," she admitted. She looked up at the saddle and lifted her foot to find her knees restricted. Before she could voice her concern, Kuon spun her around and lifted her up into the air. She yelped surprised and braced herself upon his shoulders. The smile on his face made her heart stop, and she was mesmerized until he sat her down and his hands left her waist.

"Is my lady comfortable?" He asked with a humorous smile. She glared at him and adjusted herself in the weird seat.

"As much as I can be," Kyoko grumbled taking the reins in hand. She watched as Kuon easily mounted up Hermes and humphed in jealousy.

"We can go as slow as you like," Kuon offered, "There is no hurry to get there. Plus, this would allow me to keep you to myself for that much longer." Again his charming words making her blood rush to her face and hide in embarrassment.


	14. The Summer Fair

Chapter 14

The town was overflowing with people. Literally every street was filled with people from all three towns. Men and women, young and old, plainly and finely dressed, everyone walked and talked to everyone and looking at the items for purchase. More booths had popped up since yesterday, the venders from the two sister towns coming to market their products. The air was filled with scents of various foods and sweets, along with every drink imaginable. Several of the boys in town were earning their keep by taking care of the horses that came in and found a place for them to stay. Most stayed at the Fuwa stables which was much closer than her ranch, though hers would have more room.

Kyoko and Kuon melted into the crowd the moment they arrived. She was worried about being seen and made a spectacle of but there where dozens of finely dressed women all in various styles of dress that drew people's attention. For once, Kyoko felt like royalty rather than a peasant. _I even have a prince, _she thought to herself and looked up at Kuon.

He felt her gaze and looked down granting her a dashing warm smile. He placed his hand on top of hers, as it rested on his forearm. Kuon tightened his grip on her arm as he look in the crowds, determined not to lose her in this.

"So what would you like to do? We can eat or look at the crafts," she offered, giving him the choice since it was his first time here.

Kuon let out a breath and smiled weakly at her. "I'm a little overwhelmed by this. I'll just follow you through this," he said hoping he wouldn't have to battle this.

Kyoko laughed sweetly making him smile. "You are scared of our little fair? The son of..." Kuon raised an eyebrow at her giving her a warning look. "a meager businessman," she said to Kuon's relief. "Mr. Tsuruga, you have been through much worse, I'm sure."

"A room filled with overweight greedy businessmen are nothing compared to this. I feel like I am at one of my mother's social parties," he visibly shuddered making Kyoko giggle. "Thankfully, there is one grand difference from this and those gatherings," he added.

"It's a whole town, and your mother isn't here?" Kyoko answered with the obvious. He shook his head.

"I have you at my side," he said wholeheartedly making her flush.

"What difference would I make?" she mumbled as she tried to regain her composure.

"Normally, I would already be surrounded with eager suitors. Not a single person has approached us, though we do have a lot of onlookers," he stated making Kyoko look around. It was true. She met the gaze of dozens of eyes looking their way. Both men and women looked over to the beautiful couple standing arm in arm and whispered in either appreciation or jealousy. Kyoko saw those eyes looking at Kuon with desire as well as envy upon her while Kuon was extremely aware of the eyes lingering on Kyoko for a little too long. Kuon leaned down to whisper in her ear tearing her attentions away from the crowds.

"You are not to leave my side," he practically ordered. She was about to snap at him when she heard her name yelled out.

"Kyoko!" Maria screamed and rushed over to her in an ivory and red dress. Kyoko wanted to bend down and hug her, but she was a little worried about the dress. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, since Maria stopped short and took in Kyoko's dress and date.

"You look so pretty, Kyoko," Maria said in awe and then she turned her head up high to Kuon. "Is this who you were talking about before?"

Kyoko nodded and raised her index finger to her lips. Maria nodded and introduced herself, "I am Maria Takarada."

Kuon smiled brightly to the girl and bowed fully to her. "I am Ren Tsuruga. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Maria," he said and took her hand kissing the back of it lightly. Kyoko had never seen Maria turn so red before and had to hide a little laugh.

When Kuon returned to her side, she leaned up and whispered, "I think she's in love."

He turned his head to Kyoko and met her eyes as he spoke, "I'm sorry to say, someone else has captured my heart." Kyoko's mouth went dry as he looked into her eyes and was about to ask who when Kouki came to collect his daughter.

"Maria, do not run off like that," Kouki scolded her and then looked up and was taken back. "Kyoko?" He asked as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

She smiled timidly and curtsied lightly. "Hello, Kouki. How are you?"

"I..." he coughed and licked his lips, "I'm fine. You look..." his eyes ran down her frame, "You look beautiful," he finally said. It took him a moment but his eyes finally saw the man that stood next to her. He looked up at him and flushed a little in shame.

"Excuse me, I know that Kyoko has spoken about you, but I failed to get your name. I'm Kouki Takarada, Maria's father," he introduced himself and extended his hand.

Kuon took his hand and smiled brilliantly at him. "Ren Tsuruga," he said sharply making Kyoko glance at him with a little frown.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Tsuruga. Have you enjoyed your stay here?" He asked with an underlying tone. Kuon looked down at Kyoko, and she nodded with a look of regret.

"Yes, it has been a great pleasure being able to spend my holiday here. It has been an unforgettable experience," Kuon replied with little smirk making Kouki frown. Kyoko looked at the two men back and forth confused at the sparks flying between them. She was about to intervene when Kouki spoke up.

"Well then, we shall leave you to view the fair. You do look very beautiful, Kyoko. I am pleased to see my choker on your neck as well. It completes the picture," he smiled as she touched the cameo at her neck. He looked up at Kuon and nodded once, "Mr. Tsuruga, enjoy the fair."

Kyoko looked up to find Kuon almost glaring at the man as he left with Maria in his arms.

"Ren," she called out making him blink down to her. "What was that about?" she asked sternly.

"Nothing," he quickly assured her, "Let's start walking around, look at some of the shops."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion but chose to forget about the incident. Though his behavior was up and down all day as people came up and gushed over Kyoko's appearance. She never had been paid so many compliments before in her life. She was feeling self-conscious at the beginning but was feeling more and more secure with herself as the hours went by. They stopped by every booth, looking at the trinkets or house wares, saying no to Ren anytime he offered to buy something she thought was pretty or interesting. Any person that had ever seen or spoken to Kyoko was astounded with how beautiful she looked and contributed it to the gentleman beside her, but not in a negative way. They just thought that she finally met someone that made her try to look pretty for.

Except of course, Mimori and Erika, they made their own assumptions. It wasn't until they sat and started eating at Daruma-ya that they were found by them.

Ai squealed in delight when she saw Kyoko looking so fine. "Kyoko, you look wonderful!" Ai held Kyoko's arms up so she could look at the dress. "Turn around, child." Kyoko laughed as she spun around, displaying the dress.

"I always thought you were made to wear those dresses," Ai said proudly. "Doesn't she look stunning, Eiji?" She asked her husband, and he just grunted as he cooked another meal. He obviously preferred her in her normal attire, but Ai just shook her head. "He loves it. Anyway, it is wonderful to see you again, Mr. Tsuruga," she greeted him.

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Sasaki. How is everything going for you today?" He asked as he noticed how incredibly busy it was.

"It's wonderful. It's like this every year, and we made do. Are the both of you here to eat?" Ai asked knowing that she had to leave soon. Customers were waiting.

"Yes," Kyoko said, "but I can get it since you are so busy."

"Absolutely not!" Ai cried. "You are not getting anywhere near our kitchen with that beautiful dress. I'll take care of you, just have a seat here." Ai showed them to a table in the front corner of the room. Kyoko wanted to object and offer her help again, but she took off. She sighed and looked at the table to sit finding Kuon holding a seat out for her. She smiled shyly and sat down. Ai came back with tea for both of them and then a few minutes later with their meals, succulent pork tenderloin with an apple glaze along with roasted potatoes and summer squash.

"This is delicious," Kuon said in awe. This was probably where Kyoko learned to cook from.

"It came out perfectly," she said after swallowing a bite. "I would have preferred the pulled pork but this is great too."

"So why didn't you ask for that?" He asked. Kyoko was the one who ordered for the both of them, Kuon not really caring what he ate. She said that she helped cook it, so he trusted that it all would taste good.

"I am not going to eat anything so messy in this dress," she confessed and laughed. She was happy with her second choice as was he. They laughed and spoke to each other about some of the things they saw and then the up and coming entertainment when they were disturbed halfway their meal.

"Mr. Tsuruga, what a lovely surprise to see you back," Erika came by the table with Mimori at her side, both looking as lovely as ever. Erika wore a pale yellow dress with white lace a touch lighter than her blonde hair while Mimori wore a pale blue dress. The style of dresses wasn't as form fitting as Kyoko's, theirs being slightly older in fashion and at the same time, their bustle was larger made of wire instead of the subtle fabric one Kyoko wore.

"I had to come back and partake of the festivities," he said politely, not really wanting to talk to them.

"We are pleased to have you back," Erika said stressing the word please with a little smile. "You look wonderful as well. Doesn't he, Mimori?" She asked looking at her friend. Unfortunately, Mimori wasn't looking at Kuon, but at Kyoko suspiciously.

"Yes, you do. Excuse me, but would you introduce us to your guest? I don't believe we have met," Mimori asked looking at Kyoko with concern. Kuon smiled brightly, enjoying this topic of conversation.

"I believe you already know Miss Kyoko Mogami," he said proudly making her cheeks color at his tone. He reached out and took her hand as he smiled sweetly at her.

"Kyoko?" Erika said aghast as she finally recognized her when Kyoko looked up. "I mean, of course," Erika said distressed. "I hardly recognized you. You look absolutely..." Erika choked on a word.

"Ravishing," Kuon answered for her making Kyoko look away timidly.

"Yes," Mimori stepped up and smiled sickly sweet at Kyoko. "You look lovely, Kyoko. Where ever did you get such a striking dress?" She asked with a knowing mischievous smirk. Kyoko pressed her lips together, unsure as to what to say.

"In Northwood," Kuon lied for her, letting go of her hand. "I saw her at the shop being fitted and asked her to accompany me to the fair. I am solely relying on her to ensure that I don't miss anything important."

Mimori's smirk wilted but was quickly replaced with another fake smile. "How very fortunate. I'm sure that Miss Kyoko has been able to provide you the very best services she could offer," she replied looking at Kyoko with a little glare, "I'm sure her friends at the saloon were able to teach her a great deal of things to guarantee that you have fun."

Kyoko turned an angry glare at Mimori and stood up to face the girl head on. She opened her mouth to give her a good talking to when Kuon interrupted.

"Miss Kyoko has been the epitome of a proper lady, gracious and forthright with a charming smile. She amazed me with her etiquette especially when I remembered the trite and insidious people I've met here. Though I have not had the pleasure of meeting your friends," Kuon said to her as he took her arm in his. "I would very much like to met those you deem worthy to call your friends." Without another word, Kuon swept Kyoko way from the two outraged girls.

Kyoko wanted to stay angry and annoyed, but Kuon didn't let her. He didn't mention the scene but distracted her with questions or comments about something he had seen and had her laughing within minutes. They did make their way to Ryutaro's saloon where everyone was busy serving up drinks. Ruriko came up to them, not recognizing either one of them and rudely told them they were full.

"Get back to work," Kanae came rushing over shoving her away. She then turned to Kyoko and Kuon, "It's really busy so I can't stay and talk. Did you want to sit and have a drink?" she offered.

"Sure," Kyoko answered. "When does the show start?"

Kanae groaned and looked at the clock. "Shit, in ten minutes," she cursed making Kyoko flinch. "Have a seat where ever you like, I need to go," Kanae stated and left, rushing back stage.

"Ah, Kanae can be a little colorful when stressed," Kyoko said apologizing for her friend. Kuon was surprised, but didn't dwell on it. He has heard worse from other less reputable painted ladies, and he knew Kanae well enough not to judge her from one swear word. He had to give her credit since she didn't use one of the more vulgar ones she was sure to know.

They walked over to a small table towards the bar about half way to the stage. She noticed that the Ishibashi brothers were in the corner drinking with a large group of other men and waved at them as she sat down. Some of the men they were with pointed, and the whole table looked at them curious as to who it was. Kyoko was looking at the stage and all around, not noticing the group of men whispering about her.

Kuon leaned over, purposely wrapping his arm around her shoulders and whispered into her ear to be heard over the noise, "Would you like anything? Wine perhaps?"

Kyoko never been one for wine, but wanted to have a little fun. She nodded and replied, "White." Kuon smiled and left to retrieve the drinks with his hand lingering on her as long as possible. Kyoko didn't notice the act of possession and was only eager to see the show. Kuon watched the table and saw three men, including Hikaru, stand up all looking at Kyoko in confusion and wonderment. They all started walking down, going around the cluster of tables towards the bar and knew they were going to head towards Kyoko. He impatiently waited for his drinks, and the moment he got them, he headed back towards her.

Kuon sat down and felt foolish. They weren't heading towards Kyoko, but their instruments. They were the band. His suspicious weren't all wrong as Hikaru, the shortest of the group, stood there sadly and waved at Kyoko. She smiled brightly at him and waved back as she took the wine glass to her lips.

"Do you know them?" Kuon asked as casually as he could.

"I grew up with them. They are very sweet," she told him and introduced them to him, pointing each one out from their instruments. As soon as she finished, they started to play, and he had to admit they were very good. The room was soon quieted as Hikaru started off the sultry tune on his piano. Shin'ichi quickly joined in with this fiddle and then Yuusei picked up his trumpet.

The moment the girls appeared everyone started clapping. They dragged chairs behind them. Five girls appeared all dressed similarly, shoulder-less dresses, with form fitting bodices giving way to knee length ruffled skirts and black stockings and boots. Each girl had a different color though. Kanae was wearing an emerald green, Chiori a royal blue, Ruriko's was red, Honami Makino had bright white and lastly Yuka Sudo had a gold yellow.

They started with the chairs facing forward and their backs to the crowd. Kanae and Chiori were in the front of the line while the other three girls made up the second. The trumpet sounded the start of their dance, and they stomped their foot on the seat of the chair and then pushed off to straddle the seat. They swayed down to the song, bending their knees out until they sat on the seat. They twisted to their right to look at the crowd and wink at everyone. The men started clapping and whistling at them.

They leaned back and raised their legs up to rest on the back of the chairs while they laid down on the seat of the chair. Their skirts fell to their waist revealing more thighs. With their legs closed they made a circle with their feet bending at the knee and then alternated swinging their feet in the air to the song. The song went into another change making the girls fall to their left off the chairs to squat on the floor. They twisted on the balls of their feet with sexy smiles to the crowd making them hoot and yell.

They slowly stood, swaying their hips to the sound of the music and then sashayed behind their chairs. The fullness of the skirts exaggerating their hip's movements. They twisted forward and slapped their hand on the head of the chair at another blow of the horn. They moved their hips softly back and forth as they slowly slid their hand down the back of the chair. Once they reached the bottom, the snapped back up and with a pump of the hips twisted the chair around.

They sat down straddling their seat. The chairs had a solid backing so no one could see up their skirts adding to the hidden allure of the show. They crossed their arms on top of the chair and slowly peeled off their right gloves as they rolled their shoulders to the music. Once the fabric reached their fingertips they snapped the gloves back and threw them into the crowd. Dozens of men jumped up to catch the tossed garments, all caught but one which Kyoko caught. She could have sworn it was going straight for her.

They leaned back and swung their right leg to the left side and sat with their left profile to the audience. Still leaning back, they hooked their arms on the chair to keep from falling and again alternated pumping their legs to the song. The music reached the crescendo and all five girls threw their right leg up and each of them blew a kiss to the crowd.

It was a short number, but they had to do it throughout the day, it still drew a crowd and everyone enjoyed no matter how many times they saw it. Kyoko stood up with the rest of the crowd, mostly made up of men and clapped and whistled with the rest of them. Kuon laughed at the girl. No lady would voluntarily watch a saloon show and definitely not stand up and cheer for them like she was. Kuon was having more fun looking at her than at the show.

"Wasn't that wonderful!" she exclaimed as she sat back down. She neatly set the long glove down, most likely to give it back unlike the other patrons.

"They did well," Kuon agreed.

"They are so talented. Did you know that Kanae created and taught them that dance. She is a very good teacher. You would think she wouldn't have much patience but she does," Kyoko smiled trying hold in a laugh, "She taught me a dance once. It took forever, but she got me to learn it perfectly."

_A dance like that? _Kuon thought intrigued.

"Stop lying," Kanae appeared from behind Kuon preventing him from voicing his thoughts. "You are the easiest person to teach that I have ever known," Kanae told them as she sat down. "It came so naturally to you, it was ridiculous. More so than Chiori."

"Hey!" Chiori came up with a little pout. "I got it eventually," she retorted and then turned to Kyoko.

"I can't believe that's you, Kyoko. Stand up, stand up. Let me see," Chiori begged with a big smile. Kyoko laughed and quickly stood up letting her newest friend look at her dress.

"You look fantastic, Kyoko. I wish I was there to help you get dressed," Chiori griped like a child as she held Kyoko's hands.

"Ah, Kanae was plenty of help, but thank you for the kind words, Chiori, and you did wonderfully on stage. Both of you did," Kyoko said to Kanae and then turned back to Chiori. "Chiori, I'd like you to meet Ren Tsuruga."

"Ren, this is Chiori Amamiya." Kuon stood up once they noticed he was still there and bowed to Chiori. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Amamiya." Chiori gave an odd look to Kanae, who just shrugged.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you too," Chiori said politely as Kuon stood back up. Both Kanae and Chiori had to go back to work. Kyoko and Kuon finished their drinks as Kyoko gushed about her two friends and then left to see the rest of the fair, which wasn't much. The day was slowly turning to dusk and the lanterns were starting to light the streets. Everyone started to shut down and head towards the dance floor, where another band from Clear Creek was going to play for everyone. About an hour later, Mayor Akatoki of Green Meadows stood up on the stage to give his speech.

"Welcome and thank you everyone for joining us for this years Summer Fair. Another year has passed, and we have all remained prosperous and secure thanks to Sheriff Takarada's care. Let us all cheer and pray for another generous year to our three cities." The crowd all cheered and clapped. "Eat, drink and let's dance!" Mayor Akatoki declared, and the band started.

Kyoko smiled brightly and grabbed Kuon's arm. She pulled him over to the floor and started dancing with him with a child-like exuberance. She didn't dance like a child though, she knew all the steps for the line dancing and even slow dancing. Kuon was reluctant about it, his past only giving him memories of boring ballroom dancing, but soon he was laughing and smiling with Kyoko in his arms.

Meanwhile, as the two danced, a pair of steel cold blue eyes watched their every move. Shotaro had noticed them at the saloon and couldn't stop looking at them, especially at her. He couldn't believe his eyes and was mesmerized with the woman in pale pink.

_That couldn't be her, _Shotaro thought to himself, _She's so... _Even his mind couldn't complete the sentence.

"Sho, let's dance," Mimori complained, once again tugging his arm. Normally, he would be on the floor, dancing with every pretty face in the crowd but at the moment he only had eyes for one girl.

"No, go pester someone else," he pushed her away callously.

Mimori stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "Shoootaro!" She whined making him growl. His hand came up and back handed her across her face. Mimori gasped and cradled her face, now very quiet. 

"Shut. Up. Mi..." Shotaro stopped with his hand still raised as a familiar song came up. He recognized this song. He watched everyone start to line up and nodded. He quickly swallowed the rest of his scotch and stood up.

"Yeah, okay, let's dance," Shotaro said and grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her along. He positioned himself at the end of the line within sight of a smiling Kyoko. _She never smiled like that before, _Shotaro sneered, and everyone started to dance.

Everyone danced with everyone in this one. They started out together but quickly changed. They were constantly switching partners, hooking arms and swinging around each other. Kyoko was laughing and smiling as she swung left and then right, each time trying to keep her skirt up so she wouldn't topple over the fabric. She looked back to find Kuon smiling brightly as he moved down the line. She was pleased that he was having so much fun, and that she could be apart of it. A new arm slipped through her right arm and she moved with it. She laughed as he moved her through the crowd with such strength making her bump into his chest.

"Excuse me," Kyoko said with a little laugh and looked up at the man. She gasped as she met cold blue eyes. "Shotaro," she felt his grip tighten on her arm. "What are you..." His hand covered her mouth as he pulled her through the crowd. Everyone was so busy with the dance no one noticed him pulling her out of view. He dropped his hand from her mouth as they made it out of the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Kyoko yelled at him, struggling to get her arm out of his. He didn't respond and kept dragging her away from the crowd.

"Let me go!" She yelled as he walked towards the ally. Fear, true fear started to fill her for the first time from the man she grew up with, and she screamed, "KUON!"

Shotaro pulled her into an ally and slammed her against the brick wall. Kyoko gasped as the air was knocked out of her. She coughed trying to get air back in as her arms were forced against the wall beside her head. Her eyes watered from the rough treatment and she whimpered as his lips slammed against hers. She could tell he was drinking, but this side of him was something new to her. He pulled back when she wouldn't open her lips.

"Shotaro, stop it," she cried. His hands dropped hers and moved to her neck, cupping her face and kissing her again. Kyoko tried to push him off but her hands slipped off. She idling thought of her knife, but knew she couldn't reach for it even if she did bring it. She clenched her jaw together, her lips pressed tightly against his assault, but it was getting painful. She reached up and scratched him making him back away hissing.

"Damn bitch..." Shotaro whispered and then slapped her, stunning her from the force. As she was falling, He put his right hand around her neck and shoved her against the brick wall again. Kyoko gasped trying to get air and tears started falling from her eyes as she choked.

"So you are willing to sleep with some stranger all week, but you can't even give a little kiss to your fiancé?" Shotaro whispered harshly to her as she struggled from his grip. Her fingers tried loosen his hands, to get wedge between them and her throat, but she couldn't.

"You are mine. You were always mine," he whispered as he stepped in closer again trying to kiss her. Suddenly, he was thrown back, his grip on her throat lost, and she fell gasping for air and coughing. There was a struggle, and she heard the sounds of a fight, fists meeting flesh and groans mixed with gasps of pain, then nothing. Footsteps neared her as she started relearning how to breath. Her eyes were blurred from tears, and she flinched as hands touched her shoulders and a form squatted beside her.

"Kyoko, it's me," Kuon said softly, and Kyoko threw herself into his arms crying. It hurt too badly to use her voice, so she let out soundless sobs into this chest.

"It's okay," Kuon consoled her as he lifted her up into his arms. "I've got you," he whispered as she buried her face into his neck. "Let's go home," he told her, and she couldn't agree more.


	15. Outcome

Chapter 15

Kyoko rode in Kuon's lap. He held her securely, cradled in his right arm while he drove Hermes back home. Roxy's reins were tied to his saddle leading her home as well. He went slow, more for her safety rather than desire. When they arrived home, he carried her inside and set her down on the couch. Tears still fell though not nearly as much as before. Kuon gently stroked her cheek taking away her tears. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, and she gratefully took it.

"I'm going to put the horses in the stables. I'll be right back okay," he said with great reluctance, but she nodded. He stood up and almost ran out the door. Kyoko sniffed and stood up, lit a candle and heading to the sink. She had a bucket of water for small everyday cleaning, and she used the water to wash her face. She dunked her hands into the water several times, splashing her face letting the cold water run down her bruised neck.

Kuon came back quickly and found her crying over the sink. He tossed his hat on the table and gathered her into his arms. Once again soft sobs were muffled by his chest and small comforting words spilled from his lips. When she calmed down, he dipped down and picked her up again. She snuggled against him and closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. She felt him squat down slightly and then start walking again. A smile small came to her lips as he carried both her and the candle in his left hand, near her legs.

He carried her to her room, pushing the door open with his foot and then set her down upon her bed. He wanted to undress her, not to seduce her, but because he wanted her comfortable. Instead, Kuon started unpinning her hair. Kyoko bowed her head down, trying to make it easier for him. There were hundreds of little pins it seemed but Kuon was able to remove the hat, carefully placing it on her dresser and then removed the remaining few that held her hair up. Her locks fell like a sigh down her back.

He gave her a small smile as she looked up at him with red, puffy eyes. She gave him a ghost of a smile and then closed her eyes in bliss as he ran his strong fingers though her hair. He loosened it, massaging her scalp and easing the stress her hair is always in. Kyoko fell against him, and he willingly accepted her. She felt him kiss the top of her head and she felt the tears start to rise again. She took a deep breath that hurt her throat making her whimper in pain.

Kuon pulled her up, his brow wrinkled with concern. He took the candle and held it near her neck. She tilted her head back to let him look and remembered that she still had the choker on. His fingers beat her there as he quickly took it off and tossed it to the floor. Kyoko gave him a crossed look, but he didn't notice. His face fell into angry lines as he looked at the darkening flesh. His fingers gently touched her skin and caressed down to her collar bone. His eyes flickered up to her turned face, and he frowned noticing a darkening spot on her left cheek. He held the candle higher and gently pushed her chin further to her right.

"He hit you, too?" He asked, his voice shocked and appalled.

"It doesn't hurt. I'm okay," she breathed out in such a horsed voice it only made him angrier.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He set the candle down behind her, on her bedside table, allowing the glow to highlight his tortured face. "I was distracted with the dance, and I looked way for a moment, and you were gone. I thought nothing of it, since it was so chaotic and then suddenly I heard my name, my real name, and I knew something was wrong. I couldn't find you. I called your name and got nothing. I searched and searched, and I felt like time had stopped when I heard his voice. I ran to you and..." He stopped and his face went dark and menacing. "I wanted to kill him. I think I would have if it wasn't for your cries."

Kyoko blinked back tears, her heart swelling with emotion that she couldn't stop the tears that started falling again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his face softened as he lightly hugged her.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, in to his ear. "Kuon, I..."

"Shh," he pulled her back, "Don't talk, just rest your voice."

Kyoko shook her head and then pushed herself up to kiss him. Kuon was stunned but quickly returned her kiss with fervor. His ran hand ran up and into her hair, holding her against his lips as his left arm curled around her waist to bring her closer. Her kiss was soft and sweet, but he turned it to something more, licking and softly sucking her lower lip. He pulled back, breaking the kiss and looked softly into her eyes and then looked way.

"I should go," he whispered. Kyoko frowned perplexed as he stood up. She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his arm.

"Don't go," she whispered, and a pained looked crossed his face.

He shook his head. "I wouldn't be able to stop at just holding you," he confessed making her blush softly. He took a step towards her door when she held tighter to him. He looked down at her as she stepped off her bed, and stepped up beside him. She slid her hand down his arm to weave her fingers with his and timidly looked up at him.

"Don't go," she repeated making his eyes widen. She raised their hands up and pressed the back of his hand against her chest, her racing heart beating against his hand. "I love you, Kuon," she whispered.

"All the more reason for me to leave," Kuon said coldly as he walked out the door and into the other bedroom. Kyoko let go of his hand, and her eyes watered for a different reason. Her heart broke, her chest feeling like it was about to burst. She heard a lot of noise from the next room and her mind struggled to catch up as she saw him pass her door with his things. She ran out and saw him walking out the front door.

"STOP!" she tried to scream only to have a loud whisper crawl from her throat. Kyoko ran out of the house into the dark and thanked the stars that the moon was full. She saw him walking to the stables, and she ran to catch up. Kuon was at the door when she caught him. Her hands griped his vest, and she walked around to face him never letting go should he try to escape.

"Wait, you're leaving?" She spoke as loud as she could.

"I said I was," Kuon said seriously.

"No, you can't. You..." she struggled to come up with something, anything and remembered, "the contract, you still have two more days. You have to stay for the full week." Her voice cracked at the end, her throat not liking all her talking.

"Kyoko, go back inside and rest. You can't be straining your throat like this," Kuon said, and Kyoko heard the worry in his voice.

"No," she shouted louder, forcing her voice to work, "I'll scream and yell, until you come back. You can't leave." Kyoko pleaded, her voice breaking and coming back forcefully. He wasn't looking at her, his face filled with sorrow and pain. Her mind and heart told her why he was leaving, and she swallowed painfully at the thought of what she had to do.

"I don't love you," she said suddenly making Kuon look at her. She was looking at the ground as she spoke concentrating on simply talking.

"I was just emotional, and you came and saved me. It was an emotional outburst. I don't love you," her heart wept as she lied. She dropped her hands and both were silent. She fought back her tears and forced herself to met his eyes. She could feel herself shaking, trying to stay together as she used the only thing she could think of to get him to stay.

"You have a contract to fulfill. If you break the agreement then I can bring this up in court making you stay even longer, and your secret identity will be revealed before everyone," she threatened, her soul crying at her manipulation. Kuon nodded, and she hated herself. She forced herself to walk, forced her head to be held high and to not turn around and take back what she said. She hated that she loved his footsteps behind her, knowing that they were unwilling. Kyoko stormed into the house and quickly rushed into her room and collapsed. Tears streamed down her face and silent sobs escaped her lips as she cried on the floor.

Kuon closed the front door and slowly walked in. He looked at her door as pain ripped through his chest. He touched her door and heard her crying. His arm tensed to push it open and stopped as visions swam to though his head.

Blood, crying, death. His dearest friend on the ground dying. His gun, his bullet. His Fault. _Murderer! _ Black. Kyoko struggling to breath with a man forcing himself upon her. His mind went blank, and his body went on automatic. The feel of his flesh giving way to his fist, the hardness of his bones breaking under contact. Kuon could feel it, his blood rushing through him as the man beneath him groaned in pain. His mouth was dry, as if he was thirsty for his blood.

_He hurt her, _his mind reasoned with him. _He could have killed her. She was suffering, in pain. _She coughed, wheezing to fill her lungs again. _She is still in pain. Kyoko... Kyoko... _He went to her, his concern about her well being stopped his rampage, stopped him from...

_Murderer! _

Kuon dropped his hand and curled it into a fist. _Everyone deserves love. _Kanae's words fluttered through him, and he shook his head.

_Not me. _He will not destroy another life with his presence.

The next day was filled with a melancholy aura. They each went through the motions, but no words were spoken. Kyoko was up first, making breakfast when Kuon walked out. She looked up and nodded once. His chest ached as he saw her. Her eyes were red and swollen as if she was crying all night. He looked at her throat and found a stiff high collar covering her neck, yet small hints of dark blue and purple still peeked out. He frowned. She shouldn't be wearing something that constantly touches such a bruise. Kuon walked up to her, took a breath to speak as she turned and placed a cup of coffee where he usual sat.

She was so cold, not even the smallest smile on her lips as she set the cup down. His words died at his lips, and he sat down silently. Kuon watched her as she worked, his eyes flickered away when she turned towards him. She served him his breakfast of poached eggs, toast and potatoes. She stopped serving him meat for breakfast on the third day. A few minutes later, she sat down with a bowl of runny oats and honey. Kuon's temper flared every time she painfully swallowed a spoonful of her soft meal. He could see the pain in her face even when she swallowed water. After about ten bites, Kyoko had enough and tossed the rest of her meal. She set the bowl down and then went outside.

Kyoko ran to the side of the stables and flinched as her fingers unbuttoned the buttons on her collar. She jerked the cloth away and took a shaky breath. Every second was agony with that collar on and trying to eat was worse, but what killed her was being in the same room as him. Her heart ached at the sight of him. She wanted to touch him and crawl into his arms, seeking his comfort and warmth. She wanted to return to normal, with his playful teases and dazzling smiles. She jerked her head towards a sound and flinched at the pain. She slowly looked up to find Kuon closing in on her. She quickly lifted her hands to button up her collar when he stopped her. Sad, worried green eyes looked at the dark ring around her neck as he gently pulled the stiff cloth away from her neck. Angrily, she slapped his hand away from her and stood up over him.

"Stop caring," she whispered harshly and walked around him, trying to escape his sad expression. Kyoko set to work inside the barn while Kuon did everything outside. She knew he was done when he took a peek inside. She was brushing Windy's coat when their eyes met. He still looked sad, tortured, but she ignored it, hiding her face behind her horse. When she looked back, he was gone.

The day was spent ignoring each other, the only times they saw each other was during their meals. He escaped into his room until she knocked indicating food was done. She would try to swallow a few bites of her meal and then go back outside. Kuon would wash everything up and head back into his room. Soon it was night and both laid awake in their beds, their thoughts robbing them of their sleep.

It was around two in the morning when Kyoko was jerked awake from a fitful sleep at the sound of her horses neighing. She looked out her window and saw that the barn door was open. Kyoko got out of bed and reached for her shotgun. She loaded it as she walked and cocked it once when done. Kuon came out of his room at the same time in just his undergarments and jeans. Kyoko halfway raised the gun towards him, and he took a step back with his arms up.

More noise was heard outside, and they both rushed out the door; Kyoko with her shot gun, and Kuon with his revolver. She held the shotgun up against her shoulder, pointing it towards the stables, not caring that she was only in her night gown. The wind blew, pushing her hair and gown around. They saw a shadow of a man run out of the stables with something in his hand. Kyoko shot at him but was too far to be effective. The man looked at them and ran as fast as he could as Kuon took aim and shot out as well. He missed as the man ducked around the corner of the stable.

"Shit," Kuon cursed, and Kyoko agreed. Kuon ran towards the intruder while Kyoko went to check out the stables. She had to set the gun down to light the lantern. Luckily, no one popped out as she did so. She held it high ready to use her shotgun as a club should she require to do so, but no one appeared nor was anyone hiding in her stable. She left to gather the horses, and Kuon returned a few horses in.

"He got away," he informed her, his first words since yesterday night. Kuon punched the side of the stables, annoying the horse she was carting in. She frowned, but she understood his feelings. She was just as angry as he was. When she came back out, he was muttering to himself.

"worthless, piece of..." he stopped himself as he saw her.

"He didn't take anything," Kyoko informed him with a soft voice and closed the barn doors. Kuon stayed in his place as he watched her head back inside.

"I wasn't talking about him," he said softly to himself and went inside for a restless sleep.

Kyoko laid in bed with her eyes staring off into nothing, her mind jumping from thought to thought not having a single coherent one. The morning light started to filter through her window. It was the last day. Tomorrow morning, Kuon will be setting off, and everything will go back to normal once more.

Her heart felt heavy, weighing down her body and soul at the thought of being alone again. No tears fell, though she knew if she could they would. It seemed like she'd been crying for days now - non-stop, but of course not physically crying, at least not around him. Kyoko didn't know if she wanted to get up, the increasing light telling her it was time to do so. Could she handle another day in silence with him? Would she be able to hold herself back from touching him, from begging him to stay just one more day? Those sad green eyes peeking through his gold hair, the lines of worry on his face when he sees her.

She missed his smile. Kyoko felt her eyes start to water, and she laughed dryly. _Is it always going to be this way? _She asked herself as she pushed herself up and out of bed. It wasn't too long ago that this feeling of lost was upon her when her father died. She didn't move for days, everything around her reminding her of her father, the years spent together, expecting - wishing to see him walk around the corner with a bright smile on his face.

Kyoko found herself in front of the dress Kuon bought her. She touched it lightly and let her hand drop. A tear ran down her cheek, but she ignored it. She felt guilty. It was only a few days, not years, spent with Kuon, and she already replaced memories of her father with him: his smile, his laugh. Even thinking about them made her heart dance. It wasn't fair. Yet, she knew that the only reason she got up today was because he was still here. She would still get to see him for at least one whole day.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the day. She had heard Kuon get up as she combed her hair. If yesterday was any indication, he might stay in his room until she called him out for breakfast, still she felt like she needed to remind herself not to do everything she wanted: to cry, to touch, to want. She opened the door slowly and found the main room empty. She nodded softly to herself, the small ache on her throat was still constant as she moved and proceeded to make breakfast.

The coffee was done and breakfast was halfway made when Kuon opened the door and stepped out. Kyoko tried to not make it seem like she cared, but her body twisted around and her eyes sought him out. He came out in his old baggy clothes, but in his hand was that satchel again. She felt her heart try and jump out of her throat and quickly turned away to keep her panic attack from being noticed. She busied herself with the food as he walked up behind her and sat down at the table.

"Good morning," Kuon said softly, and her eyes threatened to betray her. She turned around with a cup of coffee for him and set it down in front of him.

"Good morning," she replied in an almost clear voice. He looked at her with those damn pitiful eyes, and she quickly retreated.

"How are you doing?" He asked with concern thick in his voice.

_He doesn't love you! He's just asking out of common courtesy. He's kind and sweet, worried about someone who is hurt is natural. Don't put too much into it! _Kyoko screamed to herself, her heart sending mixed messages and giving her hope.

Kyoko forced herself to look at him and gave him a small smile. "Better," she said trying to sound normal. Kuon looked up at her, his eyes taking in her condition. Her eyes were still swollen, her cheek was a dark yellow, her neck now freely being shown was still a dark collage of color. No doubt she hurts only a faction less now than yesterday. Kuon nodded and picked up his coffee as the room fell back into an uncomfortable silence.

Halfway towards breakfast, Kyoko couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes kept flickering to the satchel and back at him wondering and worrying.

"You're leaving?" she finally asked, trying to strip away any emotion from her voice as she spoke.

He didn't reply right away. Kuon looked at her while she forced herself to look at her plate of food should her drowning eyes reveal the truth.

"I came in a night early, so I thought to leave this afternoon. I'll be heading up to Northwood going back to my original plans," he explained. Kyoko nodded a little too quickly and her appetite was gone. Why did he have to take into account that night? The contract wasn't signed until late the next day. She wanted to argue with him, to keep him here until the very minute that he signed that paper. That would buy her most of tomorrow as well. If he was going to be picky about the time, she could be too!

"Why not just leave now?" She said angrily making him flinch.

"I'm staying till this afternoon," he replied matter-of-factly. Kuon wanted to help with the chores one last time, watch her move and memorize every little detail about her to keep with him forever.

Kyoko snapped out her chair making him jump as the chair fell back and slammed to the floor. She stormed over to her father's desk and started throwing out papers from a drawer. Kuon stood up baffled by her actions until she pulled out the contract. She walked to the fire and threw the paper into the flames.

"Go," she snapped with her soft voice. "You're not obligated to stay any longer." Kuon didn't move, he looked down to the floor, his hair falling over his eyes to hide the sadness and longing in his heart. After a few heartbeats, Kyoko wanted to scream.

"I'll prepare your horse," she barked, flew past him and out the door.

Kuon collapsed on the chair and hunched over with his face in his hands. He took a long deep breath and let it out slowly trying to calm himself down. It didn't work. He jerked up, his hands reached for the closest thing, which was his chair and threw it across the room, breaking it in pieces.

"KUON!" A mangled scream ripped through the air spurring Kuon out of the house. Adrenaline rushed through him as he looked around for Kyoko. He strained his ears to hear something other than the blood rushing through his system, another scream, a cry, a muffled voice, struggling, anything at all. He turned and saw the barn doors opened and ran to them.

"Kyoko!" He called out as he reached the entrance. She was crying over his horse, stroking his coat gently. Rusty was lying on his side breathing heavily and shaking.

"What happened?" Kuon asked as his eyes roamed over his horse trying to find what was wrong. He saw no wound, no blood spilled across the floor, just a dying horse.

"I don't know," she sobbed in a jagged whisper, "I just found him like this." Kuon looked around trying to find a source, something out of place when he saw another horse lying down in his stall.

"Apollo," he said and pointed to his stall. Kyoko jerked around and scrambled to her youngest horse. She cried out and fell to her knees. Kuon walked over as she timidly reached out to touch him. Apollo was dead.

"Don't. We don't know what killed him," Kuon said softly and pulled her back. Kyoko couldn't get enough air in her lungs as she bawled. She turned around and clung to Kuon as he held her softly.

"Last night," Kyoko said suddenly and looked up at Kuon, "The intruder must have done this," she said and pushed up from the ground and Kuon's arms. She looked at her other horses, her mares and Hermes were standing tall, as if nothing was wrong.

"Why would they only target two of the horses?" Kyoko asked confused and scared. Were the rest of them dying too but only taking longer? Would she lose everything that had any meaning to her in the next 24 hours?

Kuon's eyes narrowed as his mind filled in the blanks of this mystery. He stood up and grabbed a saddle and started setting Hermes up.

"Where are you going?" Kyoko asked terrified. _Was he really leaving now? Taking Hermes as a replacement? _

"To town. I'll send Dr. Ogata over and then come back with Sheriff Takarada," he informed her as he mounted Hermes. He softly looked down at her, leaned down and caressed her face. "I promise I'll be back," he whispered and took off.

Kuon never tested Hermes before and hoped that he would be okay shooting out of the stables without any warm up. He reached Dr. Ogata's first.

"OGATA!" Kuon yelled out with a thunderous voice as he jumped down from the saddle. He walked into the office as Ogata came stumbling out in dismay.

"Apollo was found dead in Kyoko's stable, and my horse is dying. Go find out what's wrong," Kuon ordered rudely, but Ogata didn't care. All he heard was an animal dead and one dying. Before Kuon even finished the next sentence, he was already packing things in a case and heading out the door. Kuon walked out as Ogata was putting a saddle on his horse and headed out to the other side of town to the sheriff's office. He pushed through the door, and Deputy Sebastian stood up with his hand on his gun. Lory came out of the office to find out what the noise was about and met with an extremely angry man.

"What..." Lory started as Kuon spoke.

"Someone killed Kyoko's horse and is about to kill mine," he told the room with tightly controlled voice.

"Is she alright?" Lory asked, his first concern being the girl. Kuon didn't answer, wanting to say no, but knowing that was not the question Lory asked. His silence didn't comfort the two lawmen in the room and both moved as fast as Kuon did.

When they arrived, Dr. Ogata was looking over Rusty with a weeping Kyoko at his side. Lory ran over to Kyoko the moment he saw her bruised up condition. She was so stricken with despair over Rusty and Apollo, that she forgot about her wounds. The moment Lory was there, Kyoko was in his arms crying. His brow furrowed as he looked at her face and then pulled her collar back to see her neck.

"What happened?" Lory bellowed as Kyoko wept in his arms. He looked up at Kuon ready to kill him.

"Fuwa did that, and I believe he did this as well," Kuon voiced his suspicions, pulling Kyoko's attentions to him. Lory sat thinking and then nodded with sudden understanding.

"Shotaro?" she whispered as she pulled slightly away from Lory. "Why? Why would he kill our horses? He wanted to buy the ranch not destroy it. How did he even do it?"

"Oleander," Dr. Ogata said. "They were fed oleander with oats. All the symptoms are here. I'm so sorry," he said sadly, defeated by something he can't cure. "I can give him something to stop his suffering, but I can't stop the toxin."

Oleander was a tall shrug that grew large pretty white flowers. They were nice to look at but every single part of the plant was toxic. Horses normally don't like the taste and only consumed it if it was combined with something they liked. Kyoko was adamant in burning it anytime she saw it on or near her land, but that didn't mean others did the same. Kyoko couldn't watch this. She couldn't sit idly by and watch another defenseless creature die. She pulled away from Lory and went inside the house. Lory watched her go but stayed at the scene of the crime.

Kuon squatted down and gently rested his head on Rusty's side. He felt tears sting his eyes as his closest friend for the past few years was dying. "I'm sorry, boy," he whispered as he gently pet his coat. He sat back up and nodded telling Ogata to ease his passing. Ogata nodded a little too much but with steady hands applied a large dose of medicine into Rusty's neck. Rusty was already in too much pain to feel the needle go in and within seconds the tremors finally stopped.

"Is this yours?" Deputy Sebastian came in with a hat in his hands, dirty with hay and dirt from being outside. Kuon looked up at the hat, then shook his head. Lory stood up and took the hat.

"This is his," Lory confirmed and then turned to Kuon. "Tell me what happened. Starting from the moment Kyoko got those marks," he commanded, and Kuon didn't hesitate. He told him about the fair, the assault, finding her and beating him up. Then the intruder from last night and this morning.

"He was unconscious till morning," Lory filled in Kuon on what happened after. "Sebastian found him in the alley and took him to the clinic. He asked Shotaro what had happened, but he refused to say. As soon as he was treated, he left home. We chalked it up to a drunken brawl." Lory sighed and shook his head. "Now I'm wishing we had found a body instead."

"That can be arranged," Kuon said darkly and walked off. It wasn't until the sound of Hermes riding away that Sebastian spoke up.

"Are you going to stop him?" He asked.

"Are you?" Lory replied and both men looked at the dead horses and remembered Kyoko's frail form crying and bruised. If he didn't do it, Shotaro would have been hung by a jury of his peers or maybe found that way with no discernible evidence.

Kyoko rocked in her father's chair as she cried. It felt like hours, while only thirty minutes had pasted. Lory and Sebastian both came into her home and went straight to Kyoko. Kyoko pushed herself out her chair and ran into Lory's arms while Sebastian stood by a pillar of strength.

"We pulled them out of the stables and wrapped them up. Someone will be by to bury them for you. Dr. Ogata left after examining your mares. All of them were fine. It seems that his target was just the stallions in your ranch," Lory unraveled what he knew.

"He wants me to rely only on him," Kyoko said softly. "Force me to sell the ranch to keep it going. Perses is the only stallion in town now." She still couldn't believe that it was Shotaro they were talking about. Shotaro poisoned her horses. Shotaro hit her, strangled her and tried to rape her. Shotaro did all of this. Her memories of the boy she grew up with was a bleak contradiction to who he was now.

Kyoko shook her head. She would simply marry Kouki. She loved Maria, loved Lory and Kouki, even if it was only as family. She can grow to love Kouki as a wife, and when their children came into the picture, she would love them as well. Kuon was leaving. He didn't love her, and she felt no one would come into her life that would make her feel half as much as he did. She looked around trying to find him and frowned.

"Where is Kuon?" she asked, not caring if everyone in the room didn't know who he was, luckily everyone did. She looked to both men as they exchanged a knowing glance. She frowned and pulled away from Lory's arms.

"What? Did he leave? Is he outside with Rusty? Where is he?" She asked stating the more obvious questions.

"He went to the Fuwa Inn," Lory finally confessed.

"To do what?" She asked her voice cracking as she tried to yell.

"Kyoko, he killed his horse and yours. That man tried to rape the woman he loves. No honorable man would allow that person to live," Lory tried to justify Kuon's reaction and added, "I'm surprised he let him live for this long."

"How could you let him go?" Kyoko screamed, tearing her throat in the process. "Shotaro is a gunman. He goes shooting all the time. Kuon will die! How can you let him go!" Kyoko yelled out her voice fading in and out with stress. She started to leave, and Lory grabbed her. Kyoko struggled and did it well. She threw her weight back forcing Lory to take her weight and then pushed down slamming her foot into his. He yelled out, and she ran out the door as soon as she was free. Sebastian simply stepped out of her way.

"Could you at least try!" Lory bellowed.

"It will already be too late," Sebastian simply stated as Lory nursed his poor toes.

Kyoko jumped onto the first saddled horse she saw, which was Sebastian's. She forced the horse into a full gallop towards the Fuwa Inn. The wind whipped the tears around her face as she rode as fast as she could.

_No, this can't be happening. Why is he doing this? I can't lose him, not like this. No, no, no, no. _She cried trying to convince herself that he was alright, that she would make it in time to stop the stupid duel. The minutes it took to get there felt like years. The inn's vast entrance was in view but not them, there wasn't a single soul on the grounds. She maneuvered the horse towards the back and started to slow down. The grounds to the left and right of the building where empty and then rounding the corner to the back she saw them. A group of people watching and whispering to themselves. Kyoko looked at where they were watching and in the distance saw him standing strong and facing Shotaro.

"NO!" She screamed knowing she wouldn't be heard. She pushed her horse forward, past the on-lookers and watched as Kuon cross drew his gun from his left hip, take aim and the sound of two guns cracked through the air. She was several feet away when she stopped the horse and broke into a run the moment her feet touched the ground. She saw Kuon's arm drop, the gun falling to the ground and then his knees following soon after.

"KUON!" she screamed, wailing like a banshee as she ran towards him. She skidded to a stop next to him.

"Kuon, Kuon, please, don't die," she cried as she looked him over. In her frantic search, she couldn't find the bullet wound. She kept going over and over his body, looking searching for the darkening blood spot to appear, ready to take action to nurse his wound. She saw several people start to walk over.

"Help!" She screamed still not able to find the wound. She cupped his face and cried, "It will be okay. We'll get a doctor, and you'll be fine." She looked up to find everyone was heading towards Shotaro and grew angry.

"You BASTARDS!" She screamed as she watched everyone go congratulate the one who caused all this strife. Kyoko felt Kuon's hand on her face, and she turned towards him, her face fell, unable to control her emotions any further as she took him in her arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have made you stay. Rusty would have been fine, if I wasn't selfish and forced to you stay. I didn't want you to go. I fell in love with you, and didn't want you to go," Kyoko cried.

"Kyoko, I killed him," Kuon whispered in her ear. Kyoko pulled back and blinked at him baffled. Kuon looked like he had died, tortured and guilt ridden, sorrow and pain all weaved together in his eyes and face.

"I killed him," he whispered again and closed his eyes in shame. Kyoko looked up and over to the other group. People were crying, and through a small gap, she saw Shotaro's mother crying over his dead body. She returned to Kuon and looked him over. He was physically fine, but he was mentally wounded. When Kyoko didn't respond, Kuon's heavy soul spilled his woes.

"I'm a murderer. I killed an innocent man when I was 15," he confessed, the horrors of that day still haunting him. "I won a duel much like this, and his brother came back for me except Rick stepped in his line of sight and killed him instead. His newly wedded wife was right there, I'd come by to celebrate the news of their first child and then..." Kuon couldn't say the rest.

Kyoko shook her head, trying to make sense of everything going on in her mind. "Kuon, you didn't kill anyone, the brother did. It was ill-timed fate that killed Rick," she tried to reason with him, but he shook his head.

"I killed his brother. I killed Rick. I killed Shotaro. I am a murderer. No one could love a killer," he exclaimed and pushed Kyoko away from him. "I don't deserve you. I am a curse to those I love. Look around you. The moment I entered your life, you were almost raped, you lost your horse, and if I stayed any longer you'll lose the ranch or die yourself."

Kyoko shook her head, not understanding where Kuon was getting all this from. "You are not a murderer. Those were in self defense. Rick was revenge and an accident. You are not a monster, but a human being. Kuon, the moment you entered my life, my life began! I was nothing before you came, living, breathing, bleeding for my ranch. You opened my eyes to love and a real future. If I die because of you, it's because you left me. I love you," Kyoko whispered those last words to him. She reached out and cupped his face and slowly slid her arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

Kuon held her waist for a moment, then tried to push her away the next. She held on for dear life as her lips tried to show him how much she needed him. Finally, he gave in and returned her embrace. Kuon pulled her tightly against him, kissed her like she was the purest drop of water in the land.

He pulled back panting softly and whispered, "I love you. I've loved you since the night you were humming to Apollo." Kyoko laughed making Kuon smile. He kissed her softly. "I didn't want to leave, but I couldn't think of a good reason for you to let me stay," he whispered against her lips.

Kyoko smiled. "You just said the perfect one," she stated and kissed him again.


	16. Epilogue

**A/N: Lemon up ahead. **

Epilogue

Kuon left about a week later.

After the duel, Kuon had to stand trial. It was short as everyone was a witness to Shotaro's agreement with Kuon for the duel. If both parties agree, the survivor was not punished by law. After that was the punishment of Shotaro's deeds, which his parents were to be held accountable. What shocked most of the court was Mimori. She came up, told everyone his plans for the ranch, for Kyoko and of his abusive behavior with more than just Kyoko and herself.

With her testimony, Shotaro's crimes were sentenced. The duel between Kuon and Shotaro settled the crime for killing Rusty, and for Apollo, Kyoko only wanted Perses back. She felt that losing their son was enough of a punishment for her father's friends. The Fuwa's were devastated with his actions and their lost and sold the inn to Aki Shoko and her husband and then left town. The town was tilted slightly as everyone knew Shotaro growing up. They were torn since they knew he had a black streak running through him, but dismissed it because he was apart of the town, while Kuon was a stranger to them, but a good man. Eventually everyone came around and accepted him.

Six months later, Kuon and Kyoko were married. Lory would have done it sooner, since the entire town knew they were living out of wedlock for that week, but they had to wait. The first stall was for his parents to meet Kyoko, and then there was the planning. Julie stayed with Kyoko, both loving every minute with each other since both yearned for another woman in the family. Kyoko was a little worried about having such a sophisticated woman living with her, but was pleasantly surprised how down and dirty Julie got with her, and Julie was pleased to be able to share so many feminine things with naive little Kyoko. They planned the wedding while the boys were away. Once it was done, they had to wait for the groom and father to come back from their business trips.

Kuon had to come and go several dozen times this past year to set things up for his side of the railroad business. Kuu would take care of the east coast while Kuon had the west coast. The moment the decision was made that Green Meadows was his main office, plans needed to be made and papers needed to be signed. Kyoko could count the number of days she spent with him since the Summer Fair. Their wedding and one week honeymoon being one of those visits.

"How is she doing?" Kyoko asked as she watched the little filly run around her mother, Sandy.

Dr. Ogata smiled as he walked back to Kyoko. "Rusty is fine, just as Apollo is. Both of your foals are doing great," Ogata reassured her.

Exactly 11 months after Rusty and Apollo died, Windy and Sandy produced two new foals, both sired by Kuon's horse, Rusty. In honor of those two lost horses, Kyoko named the filly Rusty Jr. and the colt, Apollo Jr. The only difference is Rusty had her mother's coat, a pale gold while Apollo had his father's coat, a chestnut red.

Hey, Rusty ends with a Y, it was obviously a girl's name.

Kyoko waved goodbye to Dr. Ogata done with the foal's checkup. They were a little over a month old now and doing great. She sighed and casually walked back into the house, her new colonial mansion was more like it. It wasn't as big as all that, but it was much bigger than what Kyoko was use to. Four bedrooms, a huge kitchen, a pantry room, tea room, library, living room, dinning room, laundry room, bathroom, and then rooms she didn't even have names for. She loved the house, it was beautiful, but it was lonely too.

Julie left the last time Kuu and Kuon came back. Kyoko would miss her dearly, though missed her husband more. It's been about two months now, and Kyoko didn't know when he would be back. He wanted to make this the last trip, the one that would settle everything until the building crew came near the town. Then he would be busy again but within a day's ride from home.

Until, then Kyoko did what she always did, mind the horses and waited.

Kyoko washed up, using a simple cloth and the water bucket rather than her father's tub. Yes, she kept that, though the room was updated. She put on her nightgown and headed to bed.

It was midnight when she heard a sound within the house. Kyoko jerked out of bed and ran towards her shotgun. Kuon told her he would notify her by telegram when he was coming home. This was an intruder. She carefully edged out of the bedroom, down the hall, towards the front door. She raised her gun up when the shadow came into view.

"I don't take kindly to strangers entering my home," she called out.

The man turned towards her and replied, "Even strangers with flowers?"

Kyoko smiled and walked up to him with the gun still pointed at him. "Those are the worse ones," she stated and dropped the gun. She ran to Kuon, seeing the large grin on his face as she ran closer. He bent down slightly and caught her, dropping his hat and the flowers and kissed her. They didn't waste any time, lips and tongues melted against each other, the kiss wet and fevered. Kyoko felt herself being lowered back to the floor, her bare feet and his heeled boots making it even more difficult to keep their lip lock.

"Welcome home," she said breathlessly making him smile.

"I'm home," he replied as he raised his hand and ran his fingers through her now shorter hair. "You cut your hair," he said a little sad.

"I had to. Don't you like it?" she pouted sweetly at him making him laugh.

"I don't care, as long as you are you," he answered and kissed her again. Kyoko moaned softly as his lips met hers. She licked his lower lip and lightly nibbled it making him groan. He tried to pull away, but she didn't let him. She slipped her tongue between his lips while her hands started to unbutton his shirt. The moment Kuon realized what she was doing, he doubled his efforts and started walking towards their bedroom.

Kyoko struggled to keep upright as Kuon kissed her. She walked backwards, with Kuon taking small steps with her as his mouth fiercely fed from hers. She reached the top of his shirt, and Kuon took over and pulled it off, tossing it to the floor. Next came his undershirt that disrupted their kiss, and Kyoko eagerly took advantage to unbuckle his belt. Kuon came back and started kissing her neck as she struggled to unbutton his fly.

She bumped into the door frame to their bedroom, stopping her movements. Kuon not stopping for a second, squatted down kissing her skin as he unbuttoned her night gown. He went down to his knees as his mouth reached the valley of her breast. She gasped as he cupped and gently squeezed her breast through her night gown, his lips pressing soft kissed between them. Kuon started pulling the night gown off, pulling the fabric off her shoulders. She shrugged the clothing off, the cool night air hit her skin but heated flesh and a hot mouth covered her quickly.

She ran her hands through his hair as he feasted on her breast, teasing her with his tongue, sucking and licking around her hardened tips making her squirm against the door frame. His fingers hooked into the band of her bloomers and down came everything, leaving her completely bare in front of him. When he stood up, he took her up with him, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing her again. He walked over to their bed, and laid them both down on it. He pulled away and looked at her, making her blush lightly.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered, his hand running up and her body.

"I missed you too," Kyoko replied softly. "Is it all over now?" She asked with concern and an undertone of desire.

"Yes," Kuon breathed. "I'm here for good now. Everything is done," he assured her. He looked into her gold eyes and stroked her hair. "I won't ever have to leave again."

Kyoko's heart and soul rejoiced at his words. She reached out and pulled him back into her arms and lips. He ran his hands down the side of her body, his thumbs stopping to roll her nipples gently. She arched her back, wanting more, always wanting more. She raised her leg along the outside of his, feeling the rough fabric of his pants rather than his skin. She started pushing off his pants using her feet, making Kuon laugh softly.

"Kuon, please," she begged softly making him smile. He wanted her so badly, the moment he saw the town, he was hard and ready to see her, and now he waited and teased. He wanted to watch her squirm, to hear her moan and scream out his name. He moved his hand down her stomach and slowly into her curls. She wiggled, pushing her hips against him, craving his touch. His fingers slipped down her slippery entrance making her shudder. Feeling the slick heat that made up her center made him grow firmer. He pushed two fingers inside of her and almost came as she screamed in pleasure.

He worked her up until she was so very close. She arched her back and clawed at the sheets and started bouncing her body to the rhythm of his hand, and he pulled back. She was about to scream bloody murder when instead she screamed in orgasm as he pushed his full length inside of her. He was relentless even after she came, pushing inside of her going full strength as he watched her move under him.

Kyoko could feel his pants against her thighs as he thrust inside of her. He didn't waste a moment, only removed what was needed just to be inside of her. Each thrust brought out a moan or cry of pleasure, a new wave of warmth washing over her. She arched her back towards him, Kuon taking her offered breast into his mouth. She started matching his motions, driving him further inside of her. He shifted, lifting her right leg up, holding it in the air making her cry out at the new angle causing her to clench around him in rapture and him to release inside of her.

Kuon moved down and rested his head on her stomach after a few moments of heavy breathing. Kyoko smiled down at him and his position.

"Do you hear anything?" she asked suddenly.

Kuon lifted his head up to look at her strangely. He blinked and listened to the room for any new or unusual noises. Kyoko laughed when he came up empty. She pushed his head down onto her stomach and asked again, "Do you hear anything?"

Kuon was still confused, picked up his head and asked, "What are you..." Kyoko bit her lower lip and pointed to her stomach. He looked down at her flat tummy and finally connected the dots. "You're..."

"Two months pregnant," Kyoko declared and laughed as Kuon rolled her around the bed and kissed her soundly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed this adventure of the Wild West. It was totally fun to write and imagine all our favorite characters in such times. Thanks for reading!**


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